We spoke with Melbourne recruiting manager Barry Prendergast to gather his thoughts on the 2008 NAB AFL Draft...

"We got a tall forward, we got some pace in our midfield and we improved our kicking. All the blokes we got can kick the footy and there's some really good stories in terms of players we did get.

"We're really happy with our draft. You'd like to come and get everything you think you're going to get, but you've just got to pick what's there.

"We came here with a plan and we've just about got all the players that we thought we might be able to get, so that's pleasing, but time will dictate the success of the day.

"We're very happy with being able to bring all of those boys into our footy club, and it just gives us another platform to keep rebuilding our list. We weren't going to be able to be able to address all our issues in one day, and there's certainly areas where people will still look and say, 'Melbourne need this, Melbourne need that'.

"But we think in terms of kicking, pace, a forward … we've been able to make significant in-roads into those aspects of our list."

Selection No.17: Sam Blease
Eastern Ranges/Norwood, VIC, Midfielder, February 19 1991, 183cm, 72kg
"We thought Sam might get to this pick in the end. It was his pace and his kicking we liked, and that's something we needed to add into our midfield. He can break a game apart and he's still young, he's still maturing, and we liked his physical attributes as well as how he can play the game. Some of the stuff he was able to do during the Under 18 Championships showed us what some of his peak capabilities are."

Selection No.19: James Strauss
Oakleigh Chargers/Scotch College, VIC, Midfielder, June 14 1990, 185cm, 81kg
"He's got good versatility, we've seen him go through the midfield, seen him play as a lead-up forward, and he's probably more known as a lead-up defender. He's a Scotch College boy who's been at the Oakleigh Chargers, and he's an excellent kick who's a good size. He's certainly got attributes that will add to our list, as well as the fact he can go into other spots and add flexibility."

Selection No.35: Jamie Bennell
Swan Districts, WA, Midfielder, June 7 1990, 178.5cm, 68.2kg
"He's a Bunbury boy and was a really dominant player for the Swan Districts Colts. He's played at Carey Park FC too, so he played in two premierships this year. He also represented WA Country in the National Country Championships up at Shepparton this year. He's just got all the great Indigenous traits and he's got some good speed, a really good level of competitiveness, he's strong overhead, and he's a player we thought has a lot of attributes. He's not as big as the other guys, but that's not a prerequisite these days."

Selection No.51: Neville Jetta
Swan Districts/Carey Park JFC, WA, February 12 1990, 178cm, 75kg
"He's a Bunbury boy too and is premiership teammates with Jamie. They both had to get up at 4am to get to the Swan Districts games during the year. He's got a bit of class about him; can mark the footy, can run, is a good kick, and has just got a bit of grunt about him. He will really add to our playing list with his competiveness."

Selection No.64: Rohan Bail
Mt Gravatt, QLD, June 26 1988, 183cm, 78kg
"He was the rookie of the year in the QAFL this year. He was probably almost BOG in the grand final last year, and was a dominant player throughout the QAFL all year. He's got a bit bigger this year and has put on some size as a 20-year-old. He's an elite endurance runner and would win the 3km time trial at draft camp, and we like his attributes in terms of good balance and how he can go both ways with his feet. He's a little bit more speculative than the other guys in some sense, but in other sense, he's played a couple of years of senior footy and has been able to demonstrate that he can step up and play straight away."