The 2001 AFL draft consisted of a state draft, a body draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL).
In 2001 there were 83 picks to be drafted between 16 teams in the national draft. The Fremantle Dockers originally received the first pick in the national draft after finishing on the bottom of the ladder in the 2001 AFL season but they traded it to Hawthorn for Trent Croad. The No.1 draft pick was Luke Hodge, who became the first No.1 draft pick in many seasons to play in a premiership side.
The draft is known widely as the "superdraft" [1] due to the recruitment of modern star players such as Luke Hodge, Luke Ball, Chris Judd, Jimmy Bartel, Nick Dal Santo, Steve Johnson, Sam Mitchell, Leigh Montagna, Gary Ablett, Brian Lake, Matthew Boyd, James Kelly, Dane Swan, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Campbell Brown, and David Hale. [2] All of the aforementioned players have played in at least one Grand Final; all but Dal Santo and Montagna have played in a premiership team; and Judd, Mitchell, and Hodge (three times) have captained their respective teams to victories in the 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015 grand finals. Furthermore, Judd (2004, 2010), Bartel (2007), Ablett (2009, 2013), Swan (2011) and Mitchell (2012) have also won the Brownlow Medal, the award for the best and fairest player in a season, while Judd (2005), Johnson (2007), Hodge (2008 and 2014), Bartel (2011) and Lake (2013) have all won a Norm Smith Medal (awarded to the best player on-field in the AFL Grand Final).
In alphabetical order of new clubs
| * | Denotes player who has been a premiership player and been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| + | Denotes player who has been a premiership player at least once |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| ~ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rising Star |
| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pass | St Kilda | |
| 2 | Aaron Lord | Hawthorn | Geelong |
| 3 | Nathan Saunders | Werribee Football Club | Western Bulldogs |
| 4 | Scott Cummings | West Coast Eagles | Collingwood |
| 5 | Trent Hentschel | Woodville-West Torrens Football Club | Adelaide Crows |
| 6 | Tony Lockett | Sydney Swans | Sydney Swans |
| 7 | Pass | St Kilda | |
| 8 | Pass | St Kilda |
Brownlow Medallists:
Norm Smith Medallists:
Premierships:
The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first presented in the 1979 VFL Grand Final, and it was won by Wayne Harmes, playing in Carlton's premiership victory against Collingwood. The award is named in honour of Norm Smith, who won four VFL premierships as a player and six as coach for the Melbourne Football Club.
Christopher Dylan Judd is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Gary Ablett Jr. is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). The eldest son of Australian Football Hall of Fame member and former Hawthorn and Geelong player Gary Ablett Sr., Ablett was drafted to Geelong under the father–son rule in the 2001 national draft and has since become recognised as one of the all-time great midfielders. Ablett is a dual premiership player, dual Brownlow Medallist, five-time Leigh Matthews Trophy winner, three-time AFLCA champion player of the year award winner and eight-time All-Australian.
James Ross Bartel is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A utility, 1.87 m tall and weighing 89 kilograms (196 lb), Bartel contributed as a midfielder, forward, and defender.
The Geelong Falcons is a youth Australian rules football representative club in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition in Victoria, Australia.
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Luke Hodge is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2002 to 2017, captaining the club from 2011 to 2016. In 2018, Hodge moved to the Brisbane Lions, before retiring in 2019. Hodge started his career playing on the half-back flank but as his career progressed he has been known to push up into the midfield. He is a four-time premiership player, three-time premiership captain and a two-time Norm Smith Medallist. Hodge is widely regarded as one of the most respected players, in particular as a captain, to have ever participated in the sport. As of 2023, Hodge has played the most VFL/AFL games of any number-one draft pick, is the only number-one draft pick to win a Norm Smith Medal, is one of just three number-one draft picks to have won a premiership, and has won the most premierships of any number-one draft pick (4).
Dane Swan is a former elite professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Swan was drafted with pick 58 in the 2001 AFL draft, and made his debut in Round 13, 2003 against the Western Bulldogs.
Scott Pendlebury is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He served as Collingwood captain from 2014 to 2022. Pendlebury is a dual premiership player, also winning the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the 2010 grand final replay, and was the AFLCA champion player of the year in 2013. He is a six-time All-Australian and five-time Copeland Trophy winner, and is the Collingwood games record holder with 383 games. Pendlebury is also the league record holder for disposals, handballs and tackles.
Samuel Mitchell is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is the current coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.
Matthew Harley Priddis is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Nicholas Smith is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawthorn, making it the youngest Victorian-based team in the AFL.
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The 2009 Brownlow Medal was the 82nd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home-and-away season. Gary Ablett Jr of the Geelong Football Club won the medal by polling 30 votes during the 2009 AFL season.
The 2011 AFL season was the 115th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
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