Aaron Cadman will join the GWS Giants in 2023, after the centre-half forward was selected as the No.1 pick in this year's AFL Draft.
The 18-year-old was the talk of the town heading into Monday night's event, after starring for Victoria Country and GWV Rebels in 2022, before being selected in the U18 Boys All-Australian Team and League Boys Team of the Year.
The moment Aaron Cadman will never forget 🧡 #AFLDraft pic.twitter.com/yPKRqHLVMP
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) November 28, 2022
Cadman was one of just 21 players who were selected in the first-round of the Draft, with three father-son selections and an academy pick confirmed.
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Brisbane secured both Will Ashcroft (2) and Jaspa Fletcher (12), while Adelaide selected Max Michalanney with the 17th overall pick.
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Ashcroft is the son of three-time Lions premiership-winner Marcus, while Fletcher is the son of Adrian, who played 231 AFL games across four different clubs.
Our new recruits 😍 pic.twitter.com/NlHdEitYLA
— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) November 28, 2022
The Giants were forced to pay up for academy player Harry Rowston (pick 16) as cross town rivals, Sydney, bid on him.
That was shortly followed by the Swans forcing Adelaide to use pick 17 for Max Michalanney.
Michalanney’s father Jim was a four-time Norwood premiership player and played over 200 games for the Redlegs.
Sydney's pick 15 was then pushed back to 18, of which they traded out to Hawthorn for pick 27 in this year's draft as well as a future second and third round selection.
The Lions also had the foresight to trade out some picks to ensure they didn't go into a draft deficit, exceeding the points accumulated on their father-son nominations.
Giving up pick 36 and a future third to Hawthorn, then 63 and a future third to North Melbourne, the Lions added four more picks between 40 and 52 once knowing Ashcroft wasn't going at pick one.
AFL Draft 2022 first round results
| PICK | PLAYER | CLUB | STATE LEAGUE CLUB |
| 1 | Aaron Cardman | GWS Giants | GWV Rebels (VIC) |
| 2 | Will Ashcroft | Brisbane Lions | Sandringham Dragons (VIC) |
| 3 | Harry Sheezel | North Melbourne | Sandringham Dragons (VIC) |
| 4 | George Wardlaw | North Melbourne | Oakleigh Chargers (VIC) |
| 5 | Elijah Tsatas | Essendon | Oakleigh Chargers (VIC) |
| 6 | Bailey Humphrey | Gold Coast Suns | Gippsland Power (VIC) |
| 7 | Cameron Mackenzie | Hawthorn | Sandringham Dragons (VIC) |
| 8 | Jhye Clark | Geelong Cats | Geelong Falcons (VIC) |
| 9 | Reuben Ginbey | West Coast Eagles | East Perth (WA) |
| 10 | Mattaes Phillipou | St Kilda | Woodville-West Torrens (SA) |
| 11 | Oliver Hollands | Carlton | Murray Bushrangers (VIC) |
| 12 | Jaspa Fletcher | Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions Academy (QLD) |
| 13 | Jedd Busslinger | Western Bulldogs | East Perth (WA) |
| 14 | Elijah Hewett | West Coast Eagles | Swan Districts (WA) |
| 15 | Matthew Jefferson | Melbourne | Oakleigh Chargers (VIC) |
| 16 | Harry Rowston | GWS Giants | GWS Giants Academy (NSW) |
| 17 | Max Michalanney | Adelaide | Norwood (SA) |
| 18 | Josh Weddle | Hawthorn | Oakleigh Chargers (VIC) |
| 19 | Edward Allan | Collingwood | Claremont (WA) |
| 20 | Jacob Konstanty | Sydney Swans | Gippsland Power (VIC) |
| 21 | Darcy Jones | GWS Giants | Swan Districts (WA) |
The second round of the AFL Draft will commence on Tuesday night.
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