As the NAB AFL National Draft edges closer much of the talk has been about who will be taken with the number one pick. While it’s widely assumed the Saints will select young gun Christian Petracca with the top selection, Blues fans may be wondering whose name Carlton will be calling at the end of the first round.

Carlton is likely to use four selections in the national draft. The Blues’ top pick is No. 19 – the final selection in round one of the draft..

Carlton’s national recruiting manager Shane Rogers is in the process of finalising his all-important drafts lists – two of them to be precise. His lists will determine whose name the Blues call on draft night. Rogers explains it’s a two-step process.

“One list will be the way we think the draft will unfold based on the selections we believe other clubs will make, the other list is the list of players we will consider who best suit our needs,” Rogers said.

“Our list takes into account our priorities and needs, to enable the Carlton Football Club to the select best available players when our turn arrives." 

The Blues expect to have about 50 names on the Carlton list, which recruiters will systematically work their way through on draft night. Rogers says by the time draft night arrives, the time for debate is over – his recruiting team won’t deviate from his list and will always select the next name available. At this stage it’s still unclear who will be selected with the No. 19 pick, but Rogers says his first priority is a player with pace.

“Specifically we are looking for players with speed, particularly a midfield type of player who can play wing or high half-forward,” Rogers said.

“After conducting more than 170 interviews we have a good idea which players would best fit with the team, so over the next couple of weeks will be reviewing all their tapes, looking at all their testing results and going through individuals one by one, until we nut out our final list.”