The 1987 VFL draft was the second draft to provide recruitment opportunities to clubs participating in Australian rules football's elite Victorian Football League. Held after the end of the 1987 season, it consisted only of the national draft itself.
The format of the second VFL draft was much the same as that for the inaugural draft held the previous year. In each of the five rounds, the 13 participating clubs (except West Coast, which instead received complete access to all West Australian footballers for the second year) all received one selection, the order of which was set in the reverse of the previous season's finishing positions. The minimum age for draftees was again 16, but Sydney was the only club allowed to draft players from New South Wales who were under the age of 19.
Meanwhile, in addition to being involved in the national draft, the Brisbane Bears also kept the sole recruitment rights for all players from Queensland, and although country zoning had now finished, Victorian clubs retained exclusive use of Metropolitan Zones.
Like the previous draft, some players did not join the club that selected them. Notably, South Australians Chris McDermott, Andrew Jarman and Simon Tregenza all chose to stay at home and later became part of Adelaide's inaugural AFL squad, with second pick overall McDermott becoming the first captain of the team. Meanwhile, Jamie Cox opted for a first class cricket career with Tasmania over signing for Essendon.
The first choice was heavyweight ruckman Richard Lounder, who only played four senior matches for Richmond and has been described as the most derided number one national draft pick.[1] However, Richmond had more success with the second round pick, Brendon 'Benny' Gale, who became a firm favourite at the club during his 244-game career. Other 1987 draftees of note included Graham Wright of Collingwood and Melbourne's Stephen Tingay.
| Round | Pick | Player | Drafted to | Recruited from | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Richard Lounder | Central District | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 2 | Chris McDermott | Glenelg | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 3 | Graham Wright | East Devonport | Northern Tasmanian Football League | ||
| 1 | 4 | Andrew Brockhurst | South Adelaide | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 5 | Michael Quirk | Myrtleford | OMNFL | ||
| 1 | 6 | Andrew Rogers | Woodville | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 7 | Darren Davies | North Hobart | TFL State League | ||
| 1 | 8 | Darren Jones | Moe | Latrobe Valley Football League | ||
| 1 | 9 | Michael Murphy | Glenelg | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 10 | Michael Parsons | North Adelaide | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 11 | Tim McNeil | Norwood | SANFL | ||
| 1 | 12 | Grant Williams | Sandy Bay | TFL State League | ||
| 1 | 13 | Peter Bubner | Central District | SANFL | ||
| 2 | 14 | Wayne Peters | Morwell | Latrobe Valley Football League | ||
| 2 | 15 | Andrew Jarman | North Adelaide | SANFL | ||
| 2 | 16 | Chris Grumley | Sale | North Gippsland Football League | ||
| 2 | 17 | Chris Waterson | Cohuna | Central Murray Football League | ||
| 2 | 18 | Patrick Browne | North Albury | OMNFL | ||
| 2 | 19 | Jamie Cox | Wynyard | Northern Tasmanian Football League | ||
| 2 | 20 | Stuart Wigney | Leongatha | Latrobe Valley Football League | ||
| 2 | 21 | Shane Korth | Natimuk | Horsham & District Football League | ||
| 2 | 22 | Scott Christie | Strathmerton | Murray Football League | ||
| 2 | 23 | Scott Salisbury | Glenelg | SANFL | ||
| 2 | 24 | Mark Ducker | Norwood | SANFL | ||
| 2 | 25 | Damien Trezise | Union | |||
| 2 | 26 | Steven Oliver | Castlemaine | Bendigo Football League | ||
| 3 | 27 | Brendon Gale | Burnie | TFL State League | ||
| 3 | 28 | Andrew Bishop | Ainslie | ACT Football League | ||
| 3 | 29 | Andrew Pascoe | Norwood | SANFL | ||
| 3 | 30 | Ashley Byrne | Boort | North Central Football League | ||
| 3 | 31 | Jamie Keane | Koroit | Hampden Football League | ||
| 3 | 32 | John Cook | Hamilton Imperials | Western Border Football League | ||
| 3 | 33 | Rod Gunn | Hamilton | Western Border Football League | ||
| 3 | 34 | Stephen Hewitt | Warracknabeal | Wimmera Football League | ||
| 3 | 35 | Craig Patrick | Wangaratta Rovers | OMNFL | ||
| 3 | 36 | Tony Vigona | Jerilderie | Murray Football League | ||
| 3 | 37 | Andrew Obst | Port Adelaide | SANFL | ||
| 3 | 38 | John Polkinghorne | North Ballarat | BFL | ||
| 3 | 39 | David Kernahan | Glenelg | SANFL | ||
| 4 | 40 | Bevan Cox | Wodonga | OMNFL | ||
| 4 | 41 | Michael Kennedy | Queanbeyan | ACT Football League | ||
| 4 | 42 | Tim Wilson | North Launceston | TFL State League | ||
| 4 | 43 | Darren Wheildon | Newborough | Mid Gippsland Football League | ||
| 4 | 44 | Bob Jones | Devonport | TFL State League | ||
| 4 | 45 | David Grenvold | Glenelg | SANFL | ||
| 4 | 46 | Gary Gunn | Hamilton | Western Border Football League | ||
| 4 | 47 | Stephen McQueen | North Hobart | TFL State League | ||
| 4 | 48 | Liam Pickering | Stawell | Wimmera Football League | ||
| 4 | 49 | Jim Silvestro | Traralgon | North Gippsland Football League | ||
| 4 | 50 | Stephen Tingay | Shepparton | GVFL | ||
| 4 | 51 | Anthony Dessent | Maffra | Latrobe Valley Football League | ||
| 4 | 52 | Stephen Gemmill | Cobram | Murray Football League | ||
| 5 | 53 | Andrew Wisken | Hastings | MPNFL | ||
| 5 | 54 | Adam Ladbrook | Pakenham | MPNFL | ||
| 5 | 55 | Brendan Tranter | Maryborough | BFL | ||
| 5 | 56 | Keith Allan | Central District | SANFL | ||
| 5 | 57 | Damian Kitschke | Sturt | SANFL | ||
| 5 | 58 | Peter Bennett | North Adelaide | SANFL | ||
| 5 | 59 | Simon Tregenza | Port Adelaide | SANFL | ||
| 5 | 60 | Pat Gribble | Traralgon | North Gippsland Football League | ||
| 5 | 61 | Darren Read | Leongatha | Latrobe Valley Football League | ||
| 5 | 62 | David Querzoli | West Torrens | SANFL | ||
| 5 | 63 | Jay Viney | Sturt | SANFL | ||
| 5 | 64 | Peter Nunn | Koo Wee Rup | Ellinbank & District Football League | ||
| 5 | 65 | Dean Adams | Shepparton | GVFL |