It’s been a tough time in a season of Covid restrictions and limited football at lower levels for Brisbane Lions List Manager Dom Ambrogio.
One shining light for him however has been the continued good form of Round 15 AFL Rising Star nomination Deven Robertson, one of the best recruits of Ambrogio’s five years with the club.
It was a carefully planned and executed coup which presented itself at the 2019 National Draft when Robertson, the All-Australian Under 18 Captain that year, was not picked up as early as most expected. Certainly not Ambrogio.
It was 27 November 2019 - day one of the two-day draft. Robertson had been invited from Perth to Marvel Stadium in expectation when he would go in the first round, but as the cream of the country’s young talent found a home he sat undrafted.
The second-round of the draft would begin the following morning. Brisbane had the second pick of the day behind Port Adelaide.
But as Ambrogio walked away on day one he was plotting a coup. He was a big Robertson fan and didn’t want to leave anything to chance. He wanted Robertson so he wanted pick #22.
It was only one place in the draft order, but there was always the chance that one of the West Australian clubs, who would have known the Robertson qualities better, might do a deal with Port Adelaide to move up the draft. Or Adelaide or Sydney, who also had shown interest in the WA star.
So Ambrogio, always one to work quietly behind the scenes, made sure. Between pick #21 on day one of the draft, when Richmond chose Thomson Dow, and the second morning of the draft he traded pick #23 and a second-round pick for Port’s pick #22 and a fourth-round pick. And promptly took Robertson at #22.
It was a reasonable price to pay to know exactly what he was getting, as opposed to the uncertainty of what might otherwise have followed. And, as it has turned out, excellent value.
Robertson, a star playing on Geelong captain Joel Selwood last week to earn his Rising Star nomination, has played 11 games this season after a wait of more than 12 months between his debut in Round 1 last year and his second game in Round 3 this year.
Robertson now finds himself in a conversation about great draft and trade pick-ups, prompted by his form and the recent resigning of Adelaide and Gold Coast cast-off Jarryd Lyons.
Others? There have been many that fell outside what is regarded as the ‘easy’ picks from 1-30. Late picks in the national draft, and players chosen in the pre-season or rookie draft after they’d been overlooked by the entire competition.
Here are 18 draft picks, trades and deals that have delivered value-plus.
Bernie Quinlan - Already regarded as a star centre half-forward when he moved from Footscray to Fitzroy in 1978. Quinlan hit his peak at Fitzroy, and went on to win the Brownlow Medal in 1981, boot 100-plus goals in consecutive seasons (1983-84), and earn the nickname ‘Superboot’. He played 189 goals and kicked 576 goals with the Roys, and was honoured as one of the inaugural inductees into the Brisbane Lions’ Hall of Fame.
Shaun Hart – The 2001 Norm Smith Medallist and 273-game triple premiership star joined the then Brisbane Bears via selection #33 in the 1989 National Draft, when the draft process was a lot less precise than it is now. Only one player drafted ahead of the helmet-wearing left-footer played more games – Richmond 297-gamer and captain Wayne Campbell, who went at #29.
Craig McRae – Another gold nugget from the Pre-Season Draft, which barely produces more than a handful of players these days. Taken at #22 in the 1993 Pre-Season Draft he was such a long-term investment that he played a further 12 months in Adelaide before beginning a Lions career that included 195 games and three flags.
Alastair Lynch - Lynch might technically not be regarded as a recruit considering he has always represented some form of the Club, however his move to Brisbane at the end of 1994 was considered one of the biggest coups at the time. He had played 120 games with Fitzroy, and was fresh from leading the Lions’ goal-kicking and winning their best and fairest award when he defected North. After a promising first season with the Bears, he contracted Chronic Fatigue Sydnrome and there were fears he might never reach the same level again. But he proved that theory wrong, by going on to play a further 186 games in Brisbane (with the Bears and merged Lions), and booting 480 goals. He was a versatile key position player who probably played his best football late in his career up forward, and helped guide the Club to three consecutive premierships.
The Buckley Bonanza – Originally signed by the club as a zone selection from the Northern Territory, Nathan Buckley was forced to play with the Brisbane Bears in 1993 before what was always thought to be a long-planned move to Collingwood. He was always moving on, but he returned plenty on the way out the door. The complicated trade deal saw Brisbane in return get Collingwood pair Craig Starcevich and Troy Lehmann, plus #12 in the 1993 National Draft. Lehmann played only 13 games and Starcevich 20 games in injury-plagued stints at the Gabba, but Starcevich was the strength & conditioning coach in the 2001-02-03 premierships before taking his now golden run as coach of the women’s side. And pick #12 turned into 215-game club champion and dual premiership player Chris Scott.
Daniel Bradshaw - He gave the club 222 games and kicked 496 goals, second only to Jonathan Brown’s 594, and was part of two premiership sides, and cost pick #56 in the 1995 National Draft. Only seven players in that draft played more games, and only Barry Hall kicked more goals.
The Triple Coup of 1997 – Twelve months after the merger with Fitzroy the renamed Brisbane Lions had a giant triple win in the 1997 National Draft. Having traded Adrian Fletcher to Fremantle for pick #5, they picked up 288-game triple premiership ace Luke Power. At #31 it was 322-game mega champion and Brownlow Medallist Simon Black after he’d been overlooked three times by West Coast, Fremantle and North Melbourne, once by Richmond, Sydney, St.Kilda, Adelaide and the Bulldogs, and twice by very other club. And at #73 they took Beau McDonald, a two-time premiership ruckman. It could have been a quadrella – the Lions drafted Shane O’Bree at #10 but after 19 games in Brisbane he sought a trade to Collingwood, where he played 227 more.
Robert Copeland – After 74 players went in the 2000 National Draft and a further 11 in the Pre-Season Draft that followed the little known utility from Strathpine via the Northern Eagles was a steal in the subsequent rookie draft. Officially he was pick #65, although in fact the club had been able to claim him as a zone selection before the actual draft. He played 143 games and won two flags.
Martin Pike - Pike made history by winning Fitzroy’s last ever B&F, but was overlooked by Brisbane when it came to selecting players for the newly merged side. He instead went to North Melbourne where he played in one premiership before eventually finding his way to Brisbane via the 2000 National Draft. Pike ended up spending the bulk of his career in Brisbane (106 games) and proved a vital ingredient in the Club’s 3-Peat premiership success.
Josh Drummond – Overlooked in three national drafts, the loping left-footer with a raking left foot from the Sunshine Coast became a star in a career that started too late and finished too early due to injury. The 94-gamer, who ended up in the leadership, he was a scene-setter for the outside 50 long bombs of Daniel Rich.
Joel Patfull – A Port Adelaide junior and one-time Port rookie, he was discarded by the Power without playing a game and was gleefully nabbed by the Lions with #56 in the 2005 National Draft, going on to win the Merrett/Murray Medal twice in a 182-game Brisbane career before a stint with GWS.
Tom Rockliff – Overlooked in the entire 2008 National Draft, he was pick #5 in the Pre-Season Draft that followed, and returned 154 games, two Merrett/Murray Medals, an All-Australian blazer and two years as captain before going to Port Adelaide as an unrestricted free agent. Even his exit was a huge plus – the end of first round compensation from the AFL delivered Brandon Starcevich at #18 in the 2017 National Draft.
Dayne Zorko – So well-known it’d be repetitious if it wasn’t such enormous value. After going through four drafts without a nibble the Lions captain and soon-to-be 200-gamer was zoned to the Gold Coast Suns and traded to Gabba for pick #34 in the 2011 National Draft. Our Captain goes from strength to strength every season and continues to drive our team towards Premiership contention.
Harris Andrews – The current vice-captain and 127-game defender will finish up one of the bargain-basement picks of all time after joining the Lions as pick #61 in the 2014 National Draft. Only Touk Miller (130) and Brayden Maynard (130) from his draft year have played more games, but two All-Australian blazers underline Andrews’ value.
Mitch Robinson – When it comes to value for money he’s hard to beat after joining the Lions as a delisted free agent via the 2014 National Draft. He cost the club nothing after being delisted by Carlton for well-publicised off-field reasons. His only option was a one-year rookie contract at Richmond but he’s become a pin-up boy for the second chance club. After the Lions saw fit to offer him a three-year deal the now 124-game club champion will go into his eighth season in 2022.
Oscar McInerney – The big-hearted ruckman known as ‘Big O’ may as well be ‘O for outrageous’. Because it was an outrageous coup to pick him up with pick #37 in the Rookie Draft and complete a value-plus hat-trick from the Class of 2016 that also delivered Hugh McCluggage at #3 and Jarrod Berry at #17.
Lachie Neale - The current Brownlow Medalist took his game to a whole new level when he joined the Brisbane Lions at the end of the 2018 Trade Period. Fremantle traded Neale and Pick 30 to the Brisbane Lions, who sent Picks 6, 19 and 55 to the Dockers. Within 12 months of wearing the maroon, blue and gold Neale became an All Australian for the first time in his career, finished equal third in the Brownlow Medal count and won the prestigious Merrett-Murray Medal as Club Champion. Despite an injury interrupted 2021 season, he still shows no sign of slowing down. He continues to show great leadership off the field aswell, helping the club's younger and newest players further develop their game.
Jarryd Lyons - The recent re-signing of Jarryd Lyons for a further three years is a testament to his value to the Brisbane Lions, both on and off the field. At the end of the 2018 season, The Gold Coast Suns agreed to delist Lyons so he could join Brisbane. For Suns, Lyons was a midfielder with flaws. For Brisbane, Lyons is rivaling Lachie Neale as the club’s most consistent player. Lyons continues to take his game from strength to strength and is a key driver in the club's 2021 Premiership campaign.
