The 1991 AFL draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. It consisted of the main national draft, the pre-season draft and the trade period.[1]
In 1991 there were 89 picks to be drafted between 15 teams in the main national draft.
When the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), the league introduced the first incarnation of a draft system in 1981, where teams had two selections each of interstate players determined by reverse finishing position order.[2] This was introduced as an equalisation strategy in response to the increasing transfer fees and player salaries at the time, which in combination with declining attendances, threatened to derail the league. It was also a result of the failure of country zoning, introduced in the late 1960s, which had led to a systematic inequality whereby the clubs with the best zones, like Carlton and Hawthorn, could dominate over clubs with poorer zones like Melbourne.
In 1986, the first VFL draft was held. The draft saw players tied to zones based on their location of residence, with each club having first call on players falling within that zone. The West Coast Eagles received access to all West Australian players, while the Brisbane Bears received six concessionary picks before the other clubs.
The minimum draft age was 16. Clubs were allowed to select only one WA player each and South Australia was off-limits because of the introduction of Adelaide. Players in Queensland and NSW/ACT could only be selected by clubs other than the Brisbane Bears and Sydney Swans respectively, if the player was older than 19 and not required by the 'local' club. Faced with these restrictions the league reduced the number of choices from eight to six. In exchange for the SA moratorium, the Crows were excluded from the draft (they could pick any South Australian, but only South Australians).
The talent pool was clearly shallow and most clubs shied away from investing too much hope in the draft. A number of the Victorian clubs, notably Richmond and Fitzroy, couldn't afford to recruit established players so stuck with country footballers and young unproven youngsters. Clubs were believed to be looking to Tasmania as perhaps the only recruiting ground which hadn't been ravaged.The Under-19's competition was still in operation and clubs had only to list players who had been drafted, and those over the age of 19. Essendon and North Melbourne at this point for example had very talented reserves sides drawn from their metropolitan zones (these zones would later provide the basis for the Northern Knights Under-18 teams).
| Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games played with club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Collingwood | 5 | ||
| Brisbane | St Kilda | 8 | ||
| Brisbane | Melbourne | 9 | ||
| Brisbane | Collingwood | 15 | ||
| Carlton | North Melbourne | 104 | ||
| Carlton | Melbourne | 102 | ||
| Carlton | Sydney | 109 | ||
| Collingwood | Brisbane | 2 | ||
| Collingwood | Fitzroy | 70 | ||
| Collingwood | Brisbane | 51 | ||
| Collingwood | Fitzroy | 18 | ||
| Essendon | Geelong | 142 | ||
| Russell Evans | Essendon | North Melbourne | 0 | |
| Essendon | Brisbane | 0 | ||
| Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 26 | ||
| Fitzroy | Collingwood | 70 | ||
| Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 13 | ||
| Fitzroy | Carlton | 6 | ||
| Fitzroy | Carlton | 23 | ||
| Footscray | Melbourne | 35 | ||
| Footscray | Sydney | 0 | ||
| Footscray | Melbourne | 0 | ||
| Footscray | Sydney | 40 | ||
| Geelong | Essendon | 144 | ||
| Colin Gasden | Geelong | North Melbourne | 0 | |
| John McNamara | Geelong | North Melbourne | 0 | |
| Geelong | West Coast | 20 | ||
| Hawthorn | Fitzroy | 80 | ||
| Melbourne | Richmond | 015 | ||
| Tim Bourke | North Melbourne | Geelong | 0 | |
| North Melbourne | Carlton | 13 | ||
| Richmond | West Coast | 21 | ||
| Richmond | Melbourne | 5 | ||
| Richmond | West Coast | 25 | ||
| St Kilda | Essendon | 52 | ||
| St Kilda | Geelong | 22 | ||
| St Kilda | Geelong | 8 | ||
| St Kilda | Hawthorn | 22 | ||
| Sydney | Fitzroy | 59 | ||
| Sydney | Collingwood | 55 | ||
| Sydney | Footscray | 1 | ||
| Sydney | Carlton | 46 | ||
| West Coast | Footscray | 0 | ||
| West Coast | St Kilda | 43 | ||
| West Coast | Richmond | 4 | ||
| West Coast | Richmond | 4 |
| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Recruited by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashley Byrne | |||
| 2 | David Giles | Clarence | ||
| 3 | Ernie Hug | Prahran | ||
| 4 | Fraser Murphy | |||
| 5 | Athas Hrysoulakis | Prahran | ||
| 6 | Mark Naley | |||
| 7 | Brendan Parker | Tongala | ||
| 8 | Michael Ryan | St Mary's | ||
| 9 | Grant Williams | Sandy Bay | ||
| 10 | Stephen Zamykal | |||
| 11 | Trevor Spencer | |||
| 12 | Jason Briggs | Robinvale | ||
| 13 | David McMurray | Keilor | ||
| 14 | Simon Kenny | Kedron Grange | ||
| 15 | David Morrison | |||
| 16 | Mark Stockdale | Traralgon | ||
| 17 | Dean Strauch | Golden Square | ||
| 18 | Shane Fell | Glenorchy | ||
| 19 | Paul Brown | Dandenong | ||
| 20 | Trevor Robinson | |||
| 21 | Simon Palmer | Western Suburbs | ||
| 22 | Stephen Wearne | |||
| 23 | Passed | N/A | ||
| 24 | Steven Handley | |||
| 25 | Justin Pascoe | Whorouly | ||
| 26 | Rod Saunders | |||
| 27 | Peter Bennett | |||
| 28 | Alan Thorpe | Tatura | ||
| 29 | Damian Hogan | Sale | ||
| 30 | Passed | N/A | ||
| 31 | David Preston | Grovedale | ||
| 32 | Passed | N/A | ||
| 33 | Ross Hart | Golden Point | ||
| 34 | Dean Smith | St Joseph's | ||
| 35 | Passed | N/A | ||
| 36 | David Ryan | Terang | ||
| 37 | Daryl Argus | Kyabram | ||
| 38 | Passed | N/A | ||
| 39 | Shaun Ballans | Lara | ||
| 40 | Darren Enever | |||
| 41 | Passed | N/A | ||
| 42 | Tony Lithgow | Casterton | ||
| 43 | Brad Nicholls | Bell Park | ||
| 44 | Robert Gilbert | South Barwon |
| Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | ||||
| 2 | 51 | ||||
| 3 | Claremont | 105 | |||
| 4 | Claremont | 29 | |||
| 5 | Melbourne | Claremont | 20 | ||
| 6 | Paul Burton | Sydney | Claremont | 0 | |
| 7 | Fitzroy | Claremont | 68 | ||
| 8 | 109 | ||||
| 9 | 36 | ||||
| 10 | Melbourne | Hobart | 33 | ||
| 11 | Geelong | East Perth | 3 | ||
| 12 | Rob Malone | St Kilda | Claremont | 0 | |
| 13 | Hawthorn | Finley (VCFL) | 305 | ||
| 14 | Brisbane | Southern District (NT) | 22 | ||
| 15 | Kieran O'Dwyer | Hawthorn | Barooga (NSW) | 0 | |
| 16 | West Coast | Subiaco | 108 | ||
| 17 | Anthony Cole | Sydney | North Hobart | 0 | |
| 18 | Carlton | Footscray | 114 | ||
| 19 | Melbourne | Claremont | 25 | ||
| 20 | Fitzroy | Broken Hill (NSW) | 25 | ||
| 21 | Essendon | Perth | 7 | ||
| 22 | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 19 | ||
| 23 | Mathew McKay | Melbourne | Hawthorn | 0 | |
| 24 | Kane Morphett | West Coast | East Fremantle | 0 | |
| 25 | Steven Davies | West Coast | Subiaco | 0 | |
| 26 | Ben Herrald | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 0 | |
| 27 | Terry Board | Brisbane | Fitzroy | 0 | |
| 28 | Cale O'Keefe | Carlton | South Launceston | 0 | |
| 29 | West Coast | Subiaco | 3 | ||
| 30 | Kane Purcell | Collingwood | North Shore (T) | 0 | |
| 31 | Melbourne | North Hobart | 0 | ||
| 32 | Micah Berry | Melbourne | Melb. Gr. (APS) | 0 | |
| 33 | Fitzroy | Essendon | 20 | ||
| 34 | Tim Leng | Nth Melbourne | Nth Melbourne | 0 | |
| 35 | Darryl Donald | Geelong | Wangaratta (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 36 | Jason Dullard | Melbourne | Essendon | 0 | |
| 37 | Essendon | Ulverstone | 63 | ||
| 38 | Jamie Rundle | Footscray | Dandenong (VFA) | 0 | |
| 39 | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 4 | ||
| 40 | Nick White | Melbourne | Richmond | 0 | |
| 41 | Collingwood | West Perth | 3 | ||
| 42 | West Coast | St Kilda | 0 | ||
| 43 | Sydney | Fitzroy | 32 | ||
| 44 | Carlton | Nth Melbourne | 35 | ||
| 45 | Footscray | Essendon | 6 | ||
| 46 | Bruno Italiano | Collingwood | South Fremantle | 0 | |
| 47 | Essendon | Essendon | 21 | ||
| 48 | Kevin Mitchell | Essendon | Claremont | 0 | |
| 49 | Todd Hawes | Richmond | Swan Districts | 0 | |
| 50 | Bruce Hando | Nth Melbourne | St Arnaud (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 51 | Shaun Brooker | Richmond | Sydney | 0 | |
| 52 | Mathew Henderson | Hawthorn | Morwell (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 53 | Alistair Gray | St Kilda | Carey Grammar (APS) | 0 | |
| 54 | Leigh Snooks | Carlton | Derinallum (VCFL)) | 0 | |
| 55 | Glenn Hoffman | Richmond | Essendon | 0 | |
| 56 | Sydney | 217 | |||
| 57 | Anthony McDonald | Carlton | Carlton | 0 | |
| 58 | Footscray | Richmond | 0 | ||
| 59 | Greg Turner | Collingwood | South Fremantle | 0 | |
| 60 | James Billington | Essendon | Subiaco | 0 | |
| 61 | Michael Addison | St Kilda | Carey Gr. (APS) | 0 | |
| 62 | Peter Maclean | Geelong | Seymour (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 63 | Essendon | Richmond | 3 | ||
| 64 | Fitzroy | Geelong | 4 | ||
| 65 | Brisbane | Burnie Hawks (T) | 4 | ||
| 66 | Nick Roney | Richmond | North Launceston | 0 | |
| 67 | Footscray | Footscray (VCFL) | 11 | ||
| 68 | Mathew Bell | Sydney | Sydney | 0 | |
| 69 | North Melbourne | North Melbourne | 2 | ||
| 70 | Jon Lister | Collingwood | Sandy Bay (T) | 0 | |
| 71 | Luke Chambers | Brisbane | Brisbane | 0 | |
| 72 | Michael Shields | St Kilda | St Kilda | 0 | |
| 73 | Cameron Burke | Geelong | Warragul (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 74 | West Coast | East Fremantle | 9 | ||
| 75 | Hawthorn | Swan Districts | 0 | ||
| 76 | Brisbane | Fitzroy | 13 | ||
| 77 | Jay Burton | Richmond | Subiaco | 0 | |
| 78 | Mathew Dickson | Carlton | Sandhurst (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 79 | Bevan Smillie | Carlton | Essendon | 0 | |
| 80 | Damian Ryan | Footscray | Coburg (VFA) | 0 | |
| 81 | Brendan Barrows | Collingwood | Claremont | 0 | |
| 82 | Scott Morrison | St Kilda | Nth Melbourne | 0 | |
| 83 | Peter Jacks | Geelong | Ballarat YCW (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 84 | Alistair Burke | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 0 | |
| 85 | Richmond | Hawthorn | 0 | ||
| 86 | Jamie Madigan | Footscray | Footscray | 0 | |
| 87 | St Kilda | 3 | |||
| 88 | Aiden Bussell | Hawthorn | Whorouly (VCFL) | 0 | |
| 89 | Richmond | Richmond | 0 |