READY to welcome another Blue.
Attention has quickly turned to Wednesday night’s 2024 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft — but for Michael Agresta and the Blues’ list management team, it’s been on the horizon for a long time.
After having no available list spots this time last year, Carlton will take its first mid-season pick in two years on Wednesday night.
Conversation has centred around how many selection the Blues could make: speaking to AFL.com.au’s Gettable, the Blues’ National Recruiting Manager confirmed it would be a solitary pick on Wednesday night.
“We’ll just go the one [pick],” Agresta said.
“We’re excited to bring someone in on Wednesday night: what that looks like, we’re hopeful. There’ll probably be 15-20 players that either get another opportunity, or their first opportunity.”
The Blues have pick No.11, with the current ladder determining the order of selections. Three of Carlton’s list have been selected via the mid-season draft (Jordan Boyd, Sam Durdin and Alex Mirkov), with strategy often differing from the national and rookie drafts at the end of the year.
However, Agresta said the decision to be made on Wednesday wasn’t just about enhancing Carlton’s chances solely in 2024, but also the years to come.
Other than that, he remained coy on the profile of player the Blues could welcome just 24 hours before their Round 12 clash with Port Adelaide.
“Our list spots are going to be really tight at the end of the year. Whenever we bring a player in, we’re looking at longevity with that player.
“I’m not going to tell you who we’re picking! We’ll wait until Wednesday.”
Agresta also spoke to Gettable about the Club’s draft plans come year’s end, updates on 2023 draftees Ashton Moir and Billy Wilson and the list management team’s recent trip to Ireland. You can watch the whole interview in the video above.
