The GIANTS will enter next month’s NAB AFL Draft with four selections under 20 – including pick one – after a bumper Continental Tyres Trade Period.
The club also has an additional future first-round selection (tied to Richmond) as well as addressing list needs by picking up sought-after small forward Toby Bedford.
The GIANTS secured the number one draft pick from North Melbourne and ended the period with picks 1, 15 and 18 in the first round of this year’s Draft as well as selection 19, the valuable first pick in the second round, to bring in four top-20 talents ahead of the 2023 season.
Bedford adds to the club’s small forward stocks with the 22-year-old playing 18 games over four seasons for the Demons after being selected at pick 75 in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft as a Next-Generation Academy selection.
The GIANTS farewelled Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper to Richmond, Tanner Bruhn to Geelong and Bobby Hill to Collingwood.
GIANTS General Manager of Football Jason McCartney said the club was thrilled with the outcome for the club from the trade period.
“Coming into this trade period, we had a firm focus on balancing our salary cap, putting ourselves in a position to bring in some of the best young talent and addressing some positional needs,” he said.
“We’re excited we’ve been able to achieve all those objectives with the acquisition of four top-20 draft picks, including the first selection in this year’s Draft, which is a huge coup.
“It gives our recruiting team a great opportunity to canvas the best available talent in the Draft and bring in four high quality players this season as well as add an additional future first-round pick next season.
“We were also really pleased to identify and then secure Toby Bedford, who will bolster our small forward stocks and add to our core group of quality players under new coach Adam Kingsley.
"With a new coach, new coaching group and the addition of some great talent, we’re really looking forward to what the 2023 season brings.”
The GIANTS hold a strong hand heading into next month’s NAB AFL Draft, with four picks in the top-20, including the number one pick. The GIANTS hold picks 1, 15, 18, 19, 31, 57 and 61.
The NAB AFL Draft will be held across Monday, November 28 and Tuesday, November 29.
