AFL recruiters will pick from the most shallow talent pool in a decade when they line up at November's National Draft.

Good article by Quayle, she is rapidly building a great reputation in this area.

This year the Gold Coast can take its pick of a dozen 17-year-old juniors with birthdates between January 1, 1992, and April 30, 1992, before the 2009 national draft. On average, five 17-year-olds are taken in the first round of each national draft, with last year's No. 1 pick, Jack Watts, being among that number.

Anthony Morabito (Western Australia)
Best on ground in WA's opening win over South Australia at Subiaco Oval, Morabito is another to have come through the AIS/AFL academy. He is a midfielder who can run and carry, kick goals and win contested and uncontested ball.

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2009 NAB AFL Draft: key dates

TOM SCULLY, John Butcher … and now Jack Trengove?

FIVE months out from the 2009 national draft, the debate is already over.

COME next week they will converge on Etihad Stadium in their hundreds - AFL recruiters, player agents and development coaches, all with their shopping lists for the stars.

9am: AFL recruiters arrive at Docklands for their "big day".

MELBOURNE has gone through too much pain to let it slip now. Deep down, the hierarchy knows it.

HAVING worked so hard for a precious priority pick, the Demons face a critical decision on Victorian key-forward John Butcher.

Butcher is often double-teamed up forward because of his dominance and in the past Butcher has booted four goals to despite being double-teamed. Butcher is touted as a possible number two draft pick mainly because the Melbourne Demons (who are expected to have pick one and two) lack a big forward target currently.

Matthew Panos is a name that is starting to get mentioned as a first round draft chance (some even have him in the top ten!), largely due to his performance in the championships and his subsequent selection in the under 18 All Australian team. At 192 centimeters and 85 kilograms Panos is proving to be a damaging power forward with exceptionally strong hands and good finishing, Panos is a certainty to get drafted, despite being overlooked in last year’s draft.

The Melbourne Demons had an expectedly bad year at the bottom of the ladder. The Dees struggled with a few injuries, they used the equal most players this year, 40 . Let’s be frank though, the Demons were never going to challenge for the eight this year. Melbourne were rightly accused of tanking this year. The Richmond game serves as the best example of Melbourne’s unwillingness to win. All that aside Melbourne showed that they were definitely among the best teams in the league but with picks one and two in the 2009 AFL draft up their sleeves they are looking pretty for the future.

At 190 centimetres and 90 kilograms Morabito is tall and powerful for a midfielder but make no mistake he doesn’t look out of place on the ball at all. Often reading the play in contests beautifully Morabito possesses that ability to power out of a pack at full speed and then hit a forward with a long left foot pass, a trait that makes him stand out at his current level.

Tom Scully plays for Dandenong Stingrays and is the current captain of Victoria Metro in the Under 18 Championship. He has got All-Australian Honours twice in the Under-18s. An AIS-AFL graduate from Berwick, Scully probably would have been drafted last year if he was old enough. Tom Scully was awarded the Jack Collins-Alan Schwab Scholarship back in 2008.

Time for an update to my phantom draft (the original, and the best if I do say so myself).

MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey says the club is still evaluating its squad and is unlikely to make a decision on its playing list until after the exchange period, which takes place from October 5 to 9.

And a day after losing midfielder Brock McLean, Melbourne Demons moved swiftly to tie up their best player, Aaron Davey.

Tom Scully says he would love to play for Melbourne if, as expected, the wooden spooners take the midfielder with the No.1 pick in November's AFL national draft.

THE NEWEST addition to the NAB AFL Draft Camp's battery of tests, the kicking assessment, has been unveiled in front of a crowd of curious onlookers in blustery conditions on day three of the camp in Canberra.

SOUTH Australian teenager Jack Trengove could be the first player taken in the national draft.

While the Demons are hoping to talk to Luke Ball's manager about the the midfielder's future in the AFL this week, coach Dean Bailey says the former St Kilda skipper's attitude is the most important factor.

LAST year proved to be a false alarm, but there’ll be genuine reason for the folk of Naracoorte to celebrate on Thursday, November 26.

Dylan Grimes (Northern Knights, VIC)
Height: 192cm, Weight: 81kg, DOB: 16/07/91
Recruited from: Hurstbridge

Aaron Black (Peel Thunder, WA)
Height: 193cm, Weight: 78kg, DOB: 29/11/90
Recruited from: Kingsley

With the 2009 football season approaching, along with it comes the deciding season for many U18 draft hopefuls. Based on 2008 form these are some of the names who I see as possible to definite draft candidates and ones to keep an eye out for during the U18 championships, the rest of the 2009 season and of course on the last Saturday of November:

ST KILDA was yesterday coy about a fly-in, fly-out trip to New York, fuelling belief the Saints hope to keep disenchanted onballer Luke Ball.

Melbourne midfielder Cameron Bruce says the Demons are poised to finally lift themselves off the bottom of the AFL ladder next year after two successive wooden spoons.

1. Scully (Melbourne)
2. Trengrove (Melbourne)
3. Martin (Richmond)
4. Morabito (Fremantle)
5. Rohan (North Melbourne)
6. Cunnington (Sydney)
7. Lucas (West Coast)
8. Moore (Port Adelaide)
9. Tapscott (Port Adelaide)
10.Colyer (Essendon)
11.Butcher (Melbourne)
12.Carlisle (Carlton)
13.Sheppard (Adelaide)
14.Griffiths (Sydney)
15.Talia (Western Bulldogs)
16.Panos (Port Adelaide)
17.Craig (Geelong)

NO MORE excuses, no more tanking talk, no more three to four wins in a season.