THE AFL Draft is an exciting and memorable event that occurs every November, with some footy fans dubbing it the best night on the AFL calendar.   

For the average on-looker it’s a brief few hours where clubs sign talented young players, 18-year-olds realising their footy dream.  

But for club recruiters, it’s a night where weeks, months, years of work comes to fruition.  
 
Melbourne National Recruiting Manager Jason Taylor alongside the club’s AFL recruiting team, spend their time travelling the country, watching hundreds of football games, scouting out the best talent across Australia.  
 
They’re watching players from as early as the age of 15, right up until their top-age year of football at 18.  

This year, the Dees had two top 10 selections during draft night – pick No.5 and pick No.9.  
 
In a behind the scenes look at the draft, we take you inside the final meeting prior to Melbourne selecting Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay… 

06:47

Access | Inside The Draft Room

Take a look behind the curtain in this years Draft.

Monday 18 November | Final Draft Preview

In a final draft preview, two days out from the first-round selections, Taylor joins the likes of Simon Goodwin (AFL senior coach), Alan Richardson (GM AFL Football Performance) and Tim Lamb (AFL List Manager) to discuss the list of talent available in the 2024 draft class. 

Taylor begins by highlighting Langford and the club’s goal in selecting him with their first pick of the night.

“Harvey Langford will be our next preferred midfielder,” Taylor says.   

You’ve seen Langford, he's got a real presence forward of the ball where he can mark it.

“Left footer, excellent endurance runner, he's got a high IQ in his running patterns and has a real presence, an edge about him in the way he plays his football.  

“He seeks out contact and is a very good, contested player. 
 
“We’d really like to get him if we could.”  
 
Next up on their draft wish list is Lindsay, who Taylor highly regards for his leadership skills and composure in playing various roles.  

“Lindsay, I've got a really strong feeling about him,” Taylor says.  

I think he's got really good leadership, he's a young man with an ability to bring everyone together, not just teammates, but staff and people within the club and, I feel that will only add to this young group that we’ve got.

“He’s got speed, he's got elite running patterns, he can mark it. 

“He's never really flustered, and he takes you forward…his metres gained in the national [competition] was the second highest. 

“He's always consistent and he's actually played back, wing and inside, so he gets flipped around but is always in a game.  

“He's the ultimate competitor. Every report from any scouts that have watched him play, he always finishes with a fight to the death nature.” 

Wednesday 20 November | 2024 AFL Draft Night  

Fast forward two days and the long-awaited night has arrived.   

Clubs recruiting teams are set up in corporate boxes across Marvel Stadium – where the draft takes places - allowing them to privately discuss selections and lodge their preferred picks.  
 
As the draft unfolds, Melbourne is able to use pick No.6 – the club’s pick pushes back due to Brisbane’s father-son selection – to draft Langford.  
 
In his first moments with Taylor and Goodwin after his named is called out, Langford is in awe of the opportunity.  
 
“I can't believe it, it’s awesome,” Langford says.   

I can't wait to get into it.”

It’s not long before the attention then turns to the next new Demon. With pick No.11 – Melbourne further pushes out due to an Academy selection from Gold Coast – the Dees draft Lindsay.  

Making his way into the Melbourne’s draft suite, Lindsay is met with a number of congratulatory handshakes and is lost for words when discussing the feeling of joining the club.  

“I’m over the moon,” Lindsay says.  

I’m just so grateful, there’s no words for it.”

Following the night, Taylor reflects on the success of the draft, detailing the new talent acquired by the club.

“It's a good result bringing in Harvey with our first selection. He's a big, stronger mid, who can go forward and really mark the ball well – that’s a real asset of his,” Taylor says. 
 
“He’s ultra consistent, he's got a high IQ, and he's going to add some real value not only in the midfield, but forward of the ball as well. 
 
“Xavier brings some speed, really good spatial awareness, good footy IQ and he’s an elite kick.   

“He's got the variety in his game, he can play halfback really well, he can play wing really well, and he played a lot of games inside really well.

“So, once he fills out and gets a bit stronger, we can see him doing that at an AFL level down the track.”