FREMANTLE yesterday unexpectedly exhumed the career of Essendon premiership player Mark Johnson, while drafting another Bomber Kepler Bradley, the pair among only five players to be offered second chances at yesterday's national draft.
The Dockers are also believed to be eyeing uncontracted Brisbane Lion Ashley McGrath, who could be available in the pre-season draft if he fails to come to terms with the Lions.
While the return to AFL football of Fraser Gehrig and Stuart Dew had been anticipated, the drafting of 29-year-old Johnson, a 2000 premiership player, by the old Windy Hill firm at Fremantle, was the major surprise. Johnson was drafted at pick 55, Bradley among the last handful picked at pick 69.
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey, who was an assistant coach at Essendon throughout Johnson's career, said Johnson was testing better now than he had been as a 25-year-old, adding that AFL clubs tended to discard players prematurely.
But Harvey said Fremantle's willingness to recycle players should not be viewed as a sign that it believed it was close to premiership contention.
"Sometimes they make decisions on age and where their list's at and all that sort of thing … I think the whole system is prematurely making decisions too quick on players these days."
In other major developments from yesterday's draft:
■ Essendon continued to mine the riches of Western Australia, using its first two choices (picks six and 23) and three of its total of four picks on West Australians. The Dons have drafted six WA players in the past two national drafts, and have used their first pick on West Aussies in each of the past three years.
■ The Western Bulldogs provided the "smokey" of 2007, drafting at pick 43 Easton Wood — a player unfamiliar to some clubs — from Camperdown.
■ Adelaide supporters and members reacted angrily to the club's overlooking of South Australians — it did not draft a single SA player.
■ The Kangaroos sprung a small surprise by drafting Robbie Tarrant, the 196-centimetre brother of Chris Tarrant, with their first choice, No. 15.
■ Carlton suggested that its latest No. 1 pick, Matthew Kreuzer — its third consecutive No. 1 pick — was capable of playing in round one.
As expected, Carlton and Richmond chose Northern Knights duo Kreuzer and Trent Cotchin, with picks No. 1 and 2. The Knights provided four of the first 14 players selected, while the Calder Cannons had six players drafted.
■ In all, 69 players were drafted yesterday, but only five of them had AFL experience — a reflection of the new trading system that allowed players to be traded for picks that subsequently were not used.
Bulldogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton said he was first alerted to Easton Wood by his friend, the former St Kilda and Fitzroy player Michael Nettlefold.
"He's out of the system because he was on a sporting scholarship, cricket and athletics, to Geelong Grammar," Clayton said of Woods. "He played footy there and played footy at Camperdown prior to that. And he's a very strong-bodied, athletic powerful young man, we, you know, thought he was worth a punt.
"We didn't test him. We were confident in our naked eye there. He's about 185 (centimetres), a very strong body and powerful young man. He couldn't commit full-time to the (Geelong) Falcons program … he's speculative, they're all speculative … we've got a lot of work to do with him."
Rival clubs declared that Melbourne had been one of the winners yesterday, the Demons securing Cale Morton (Claremont, pick 4), Jack Grimes (Northern Knights, pick 14) and Adam Maric (Calder, pick 21) with its first three picks. The Demons and West Coast were the only clubs with two first-round selections, the Eagles securing Chris Masten and Toby Notte — both WA kids — from the picks they received for Chris Judd.
Brisbane Lions expressed confidence that most of its five draftees would play senior football next year. Football director Graeme Allan said: "I think it's an outstanding draft for the Brisbane Lions Football Club, and I think it's really going to help us develop, and a lot of them will play AFL footy next year."
