We spoke with Carlton recruiting manager Wayne Hughes to gather his thoughts on the 2008 NAB AFL Draft...

NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft

Selection No. 4: Chris Johnson
Melbourne/East Fremantle, midfielder/half-back, 25/1/86, 188cm, 87kg
"It's probably fair to say that Chris was a player we targeted to come onto our list for our needs in defence, particularly because of his kicking.

"He's been aware that someone else could pick him and we have too, but having spoken to the clubs picking ahead of us we thought we were going to be pretty right. Until you read their name out you're never sure though."

NAB AFL Rookie Draft

Selection No. 6: Jeff Garlett
Swan Districts, small forward, 3/8/89, 178cm, 67kg
"Jeff was probably the one player left off our list from the national draft and we thought we'd like to give him an opportunity.

"We were a bit worried given that he trained at Hawthorn for the last week that someone might snap him up before we picked him, but we're very happy to have Jeff on board.

"He can play on the ball or as a small forward. He does a bit of both and kicked a lot of goals for Swan Districts this year. He's particularly quick, he can do a 15 beep test and he's pretty skilful, so we think he's a really good pick up for a rookie."

Selection No. 22: Luke Stanton
Northern Knights, tall defender, 8/1/90, 192cm, 84kg
"We watched Luke play a lot this year and last year and we thought he was a tad unlucky not to get picked in the national draft.

"We're happy to have him on board. He's a good size and we think that he can turn into a defender long term and he can also play on a wing because he's very good athletically."

Selection No. 37: Greg Bentley
Port Adelaide/Dandenong Stingrays, medium midfielder, 9/4/87, 187cm, 88kg
"We actually liked Greg the year he got taken by Port after watching him with the Dandenong Stingrays that year. I followed him quite closely and from what I've seen he certainly deserves another go, so we're happy to give him that.

"He's been terrific in his time here and he adds depth to our midfield."

Selection No. 51: Darren Pfeiffer
Adelaide/Norwood, midfielder/half-back, 28/9/87, 183cm, 81kg
"Darren Pfeiffer played seven games for us last year off the back of no pre-season training and an ankle injury. Our numbers tightened up so unfortunately he got left off, but we always had it in mind to re-draft him should no one else pick him. We're happy to have him back and he's had a full pre-season so far."

Selection No. 65: Lachie Hill
Carlton rookie/Oakleigh Chargers, medium midfielder, 15/5/89, 190cm, 86kg
"Lachie Hill was our last rookie pick last year and one year is just not enough time. Unfortunately when you're crunching your numbers down some guys have to get left off, but we offered him a pre-season training spot and he's come back from the break and seems to have taken another step from last year. We'll give him another opportunity and he gets another year to make his mark."

Selection No. 76: Sam Jacobs
Carlton rookie/Woodville-West Torrens, ruck, 10/4/88, 200cm, 100kg
"Sam Jacobs we would have been happy to give another on the rookie list automatically, but the rules unfortunately didn't allow us to do that so we had to go through the two drafts to get him back. Ruckmen take so long to develop and he's done particularly well in a physical sense this pre-season and we think he deserves another year."