“It’s like Christmas… you know you’re getting something, you just don’t know what.”
These were the words of Gold Coast’s GM – List & Strategy Craig Cameron regarding the 2018 NAB AFL Draft.
The SUNS went into the night with a war chest of first-round selections, holding picks 2, 3 and 6 overall.
With those selections, the club brought in three of the best young talents in the nation in Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Ben King.
And while those three picks rightfully got all the media attention and fanfare, it was Gold Coast’s next selection which was arguably the most intriguing.
Entering the night of the first round, the SUNS also held picks 24 and 29 – which would fall in the second round and on the following day.
The recruiting staff should have had a stress-free night after their first three selections, but with the advent of live pick-trading for the first time, that’s not how it went down at the draft table.
Gold Coast had Central District defender Jez McLennan in their sights for their next pick, but after receiving intel that Sydney had moved up the draft order to pounce on the Adelaide prospect, the SUNS started formulating an action plan.
A deal was proposed with West Coast to get the Eagles’ pick 22 ahead of the Swans’ pick 24, in exchange for the SUNS’ pick 26 and 31 which had slid down the order due to Academy bids.
“If we want Jez McLennan, we’re going to have to trade at this stage 26 and 31 to get 22 to get ahead of Sydney,” National Recruiting Manager Kall Burns told the war room in exclusive AFL.com.au vision.
“What do we get back?” asked coach Stuart Dew.
“22 at this stage – they’ve said they wouldn’t give anything else back but we could negotiate that hopefully,” Burns replied.
“So they’re going to take McLennan?” Craig Cameron asked.
“It’s what Sydney’s gone up the board for,” Burns replied.
Also in the SUNS’ thinking at this stage was McLennan’s South-Australian captain Luke Valente who would be recruited as a midfielder.
The club had to decide whether giving up two picks was worth it to snare McLennan, or hold out and hope Valente or a similar option was still available for the SUNS next pick.
“If we got Valente it’s not the end of the world, but we don’t know that he’s going to be there so we could miss out on both,” Cameron said to his team.
“We probably need more a McLennan type than a Valente type in terms of the list?” Dew asked.
“He (McLennan) really wants to be at our footy club, it’s a position I think we need to prioritise at this stage.” Burns answered.
While the SUNS negotiated a possible trade with West Coast, GWS also looms as a potential suitor to swap picks with.
The Giants were considering sending back what had pushed out to picks 22 and 47 in exchange for 27 and 32 – which was more than West Coast’s offer.
But it all hinged on a bid coming from a rival club on GWS’ Academy prospect Kieran Briggs.
When a historic live trade unfolds on the screens in front of them, the SUNS’ recruiting team was forced to re-evaluate.
Watch how the rest of the event unfolded in the video above. 
