EVERY November addition analysed.

It's been a big week in a big month for the Blues, with the 2023 AFL Draft welcoming Ashton Moir, Billy Wilson and rookie Matthew Carroll to the fold, weeks after the Blues announced the acquisition of Orazio Fantasia as a delisted free agent.

As attention now turns to the imminent return of the AFL pre-season, Head of List Management Nick Austin spoke on all things Carlton with all list spots taken.

Another draft done and dusted. Three picks over the national and rookie drafts. The haul itself first: what did you make of it? Happy with how it turned out?

"We are. It’s quite unique where we had three picks, one on each day over three days. It’s been a long wait from start to finish, but we’re really pleased with the way it worked out. We’ve brought in three quality young men and young players that we think are going to make a difference."

What were the focuses leading into this year’s draft period, and do you think you managed to achieve that?

"It was a funny one: picking a bit further back, it was a focus of ours during the trade period to make sure we got those two selections close together. One of those being the last of the first round, and then quite early in the second. With our rankings and our order, we stayed true to that.

"We had a bit of a group that we put together and we were happy to pick two players out of that group. With Ashton and Billy coming in, we were able to tick that box. Matt was another we rated quite highly, and we were rapt to call his name out in the rookie draft."

We’ll start with Ashton back on Monday night. You’ve spoken a little bit about him — what can Carlton supporters expect from him once he arrives here and gets going?

"Ashton is a unique player. He’s a third mobile forward who can get up on the ground, has good speed and is a beautiful kick on both sides of his body and really well-balanced. We feel he’s a tough match-up for defenders and he’s going to cause some headaches. We’re looking forward to getting him in, getting his body right and robust and adjusted to the level and away he goes."

You mentioned this on Tuesday night, Billy Wilson early in the second round. He was listed as a general defender on FOX Footy, but you were looking at him as a midfielder, a role he played really well with the Dandenong Stingrays.

"He did. Billy played some really good footy across half-back with both the Dandenong Stingrays and Vic Country. In the back half of the year, he went inside as a pure inside midfielder and we loved what he did there. He went from strength to strength: he’s very clean, he’s got a burst of speed that we think is a point of difference for us in the centre of the ground. His ability to step through traffic and hit the kick is really important in his game. They’re some traits we really like with Bill."

How quickly did you call out Matthew Carroll’s name in the rookie draft?

"It was a long wait. Three picks in three days, we had some down time in between and some time to reflect and work through some scenarios in our order. We had Matt rated pretty well in that national draft, and we would’ve been happy to call him there. The way it worked out, he got through to our rookie pick, and we were delighted to call his name."

For those who haven’t seen him before, what can we expect from him?

"Matt will start with our backs. What we did like was his versatility. He’s a really good size at 188-189cm: think the Mitch McGovern or Nic Newman type role, where he can intercept and then rebound. That’s Matt’s go. He played a bit of footy on the wing with the Dragons, he’s played school footy in the front half — he had a school game where he kicked five in a half, which was really impressive."

It’d be remiss of me not to mention another forward-half addition that happened a few weeks ago now with Orazio Fantasia. It seemed like it came a little bit out of nowhere for a bunch of people, how did that all come about?

"Orazio is someone we’ve been chatting with a bit in the back half of the year with his management. We weren’t really sure where it was going to end up: it did happen quite late where the decision was to explore it. ‘Vossy’ obviously had a relationship with him in his Port Adelaide days, and we think Orazio provides leadership to that front half.

"We’ve got some younger small forwards that have been carrying a fair load, and we think he’s going to help mentor those guys. He’s played 100 games of footy and kicked 150 goals: his best football stacks up. If we can get his body right, we think he can really help us in that front half of the ground."

The list is full now, no spots for train-on players. What comes next for the draftees? They’re coming in this week before pre-season begins on Monday.

"The draftees will be in [Wednesday night] with their families, where we’ll have a bit of a meet-and-greet, a tour of the facilities and these sorts of things. They’ll meet some key football staff with the coaches and some people behind the scenes. It’ll be great for them to come in, get established and all that sort of thing.

"On Monday, they’ll be ready to go with the first-to-four year players. To hit the ground running with the rest of the group will be really important for them: it’s going to be a big day for them."

What’s the advantage of that, having them start on the same day as the other boys? They’ll be seeing their new teammates this week, they’ve basically all been around the place in the last few weeks.

"We’ve had a lot of boys coming in. It’s important to hit the ground running and making sure they don’t feel like they’re behind or missing out on too much. To start day one of the official pre-season is great for them: it’s the first time in a number of years where that’s happened with our draftees.

"It’s going to be an exciting day for them, a big day, meeting all their new teammates. They’re all pretty excited: we’ve spoken to all the boys. It’ll be great to get them in with their families and welcome them to the Carlton Football Club."

No spoilers, but onto the jumper numbers now?

"Onto the jumper numbers. You know I’m a jumper number nuffie! We’ll sit down over the next couple of days and see where it lands."