NATIONAL recruiting manager Jason Taylor says the club “is reasonably close” to settling on who it will take with its first pick in next Tuesday night’s NAB AFL Draft in Adelaide.
The Demons have pick No.3 and Taylor said the Demons had almost settled on the player they want first-up.
“We’ve just got a few little things we need to tick off in the next six days, but we fly out on Sunday to Adelaide, but we’re pretty close [with deciding on who we’re taking at pick No.3],” he told Dee TV.
In regards to Melbourne’s second selection at No.7, Taylor said it was a case of wait and see, as Essendon has two choices at No.4 and No.5, and Gold Coast Suns have No.6.
“We’ll just put them in an order and we’ll be dictated to by the clubs in between us,” he said.
“I’m not sure we can work it out (pick No.7).
“As simple as it sounds, we’ll just have it in an order we’re happy with and we’ll take the best available there.”
Taylor said he was confident the club could land some good players with their third and fourth selections at No.46 and No.50 respectively. 
The recruting team (left to right): Kelly O'Donnell, Darren Farrugia, Tim Lamb, Jason Taylor and Todd Viney
“We think there are a good 45 to 50 players in this draft pool that can end up [being] reasonable players at the level,” he said.
“Again, we’ll just have an order in line and hopefully someone we rate in the 20s and 30s will get through to that area and that’ll make us happy.”
Taylor said the week leading up to the draft was all about staying calm and focused.
“You’ve got to stay level and make sure you’ve done the work,” he said.
“If there is anything in your mind that you think you may have left out – you’ve got to tick that off and go back over any old information or make a few phone calls that might put your mind at ease.
“It’s also a bit of a waiting game, so you need to be a little bit patient to get to Tuesday next week and get the job done.
“It’s not far to go now and we’ll be glad when we get to the day and see what comes out of it.”
