In summary
Apart from GWS, the Lions had the best draft position after the Mitch Clark trade left them with two of the top 12 picks. A ruckman was high on the priority list and they landed one in Billy Longer, while they also stocked up on running defenders in Sam Docherty and Elliot Yeo.

What the recruiter said
"We're pretty thin in the ruck stocks. We've got Matthew Leuenberger and we've brought Ben Hudson in to provide some back-up. We were pretty keen to get a ruckman in this draft and Billy was available and he is clearly the best ruckman in the country for his age." Brisbane Lions national talent manager Rob Kerr.

Pick 8: Billy Longer, Northern Knights
Kerr says: "We expected the Giants would probably take him but we started to get whispers he might fall to us, so we're pretty happy with that. It started to filter through earlier in the week because we were hearing they wanted a tall and that was either going to be Tomlinson or Haynes and it turned out to be Haynes."

Pick 12: Sam Docherty, Gippsland Power
Kerr says: "We had him at 12. That was about where we rated him. The mid-sized defender is an area we wanted to boost and Sam has got very good kicking skills. I've spoken to him a few times and he seems a quality kid."

Pick 30: Elliot Yeo, East Fremantle
Kerr says: "He's got plenty of development in front of him. With a couple of years in the system he could develop into a good wing/half-forward/half-back - a bit (Nathan) Fyfe-like we think. Graham Hadley identified him early and brought him to our attention. He looks young and is still developing."

Pick 47: Patrick Wearden, Murray Bushrangers
Kerr says: "In terms of build, he reminds me a lot of Paul Kelly. Paul wasn't as tall but I think he is an exciting prospect. Living where he was, his pre-season was one night a week and during the season was two nights a week. The country boys have got a good margin for improvement, simply because they don't get the intensity of work the city boys do."

Pick 69: Mitchell Golby, rookie upgrade