The 1996 AFL draft was held at the conclusion of the 1996 Australian Football League (AFL) season. The inaugural rookie draft was held with the 1997 pre-season draft.
The AFL draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.
Clubs receive picks based on the position in which they finish on the ladder during the season, although these picks can be swapped around by teams for trading players.
| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Paxman | Fitzroy | Port Adelaide |
| 2 | Paul Hudson | Hawthorn | Western Bulldogs |
| 3 | Leigh Newton | Albury | Melbourne |
| 4 | Jason Taylor | Hawthorn | Collingwood |
| 5 | Brett Cook | Fitzroy | St Kilda |
| 6 | Brett Evans | Springvale | Richmond |
| 7 | Jon Hassall | Collingwood | Hawthorn |
| 8 | Darren Hulme | Southern Stingrays | Carlton |
| 9 | Matthew Banks | Eastern Ranges | Essendon |
| 10 | John Stevens | Old Ivanhoe Grammarians | Sydney |
| 11 | Brett Chandler | Fitzroy | North Melbourne |
| 12 | Steven Pitt | Collingwood | Western Bulldogs |
| 13 | Robert Pyman | Collingwood | Melbourne |
| 14 | Robert Schaefer | Central District | Collingwood |
| 15 | Brad Campbell | Port Melbourne | St Kilda |
| 16 | Todd Ridley | Fremantle | Hawthorn |
| 17 | Anthony Mellington | Fitzroy | North Melbourne |
| 18 | Shane Woewodin | East Fremantle | Melbourne |
| 19 | Michael R. Gardiner | Subiaco | Collingwood |
| 20 | Nigel Credin | Fitzroy | Hawthorn |
The first AFL rookie draft was held on 25 February 1997. Only players aged between 18 and 23 were eligible to be drafted. Whilst each club could draft up to six players onto their Rookie Lists, only Collingwood, Melbourne and Essendon selected a full complement, whilst Brisbane Lions and St Kilda declined to take part.[1]
| Pick | Player | Recruited from | AFL club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Dylan | Port Adelaide | Port Adelaide |
| 2 | Adam Contessa | North Melbourne reserves | Western Bulldogs |
| 3 | Nathan Bassett | Norwood | Melbourne |
| 4 | Cameron Venables | Subiaco | Fremantle |
| 5 | Ben Marsh | West Adelaide | Adelaide |
| 6 | Mal Michael | Collingwood reserves | Collingwood |
| 7 | Justin Plapp | Burnie | Richmond |
| 8 | Brad L. Campbell | Kyabram | Hawthorn |
| 9 | Michael Brown | Fitzroy reserves | Geelong |
| 10 | Mark Porter | Coburg | Carlton |
| 11 | Paul Blair | Subiaco | West Coast |
| 12 | Mark Johnson | Calder U18 | Essendon |
| 13 | Pass | Brisbane | |
| 14 | Nathan Tresize | Murray U18 | Sydney |
| 15 | Julian Kirzner | Carlton reserves | North Melbourne |
| 16 | Luke Ottens | Glenelg | Port Adelaide |
| 17 | Jason Lappin | Western Bulldogs reserves | Western Bulldogs |
| 18 | Daniel Ward | Fitzroy reserves | Melbourne |
| 19 | Matthew Richter | Claremont | Fremantle |
| 20 | Steven Coghill | West Adelaide | Adelaide |
| 21 | Andrew Pugsley | Eastern U18 | Collingwood |
| 22 | Jason Ramsey | Fitzroy | Richmond |
| 23 | Pass | Hawthorn | |
| 24 | Shawn Lewfatt | Essendon | Geelong |
| 25 | Pass | Carlton | |
| 26 | Ryan Webb | West Perth | West Coast |
| 27 | Gary Moorcroft | Essendon reserves | Essendon |
| 28 | Pass | Brisbane | |
| 29 | Pass | Sydney | |
| 30 | Bryan Beinke | Port Adelaide | North Melbourne |
| 31 | Pass | Port Adelaide | |
| 32 | Pass | Western Bulldogs | |
| 33 | Matthew Bishop | Box Hill | Melbourne |
| 34 | Rupert Betheras | East Perth | Fremantle |
| 35 | Pass | Adelaide | |
| 36 | Michael Polley | Melbourne | Collingwood |
| 37 | Pass | Richmond | |
| 38 | Pass | Hawthorn | |
| 39 | Pass | Geelong | |
| 40 | Pass | Carlton | |
| 41 | Trent Simpson | Subiaco | West Coast |
| 42 | Andrew Ramsden | Old Trinity | Essendon |
| 43 | Pass | Brisbane | |
| 44 | Pass | Sydney | |
| 45 | Pass | North Melbourne | |
| 46 | Pass | Port Adelaide | |
| 47 | Pass | Western Bulldogs | |
| 48 | Russell Robertson | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 49 | Scott Gooch | Fremantle | Fremantle |
| 50 | Pass | Adelaide | |
| 51 | Brett Warburton | Carlton reserves | Collingwood |
| 52 | Pass | Richmond | |
| 53 | Pass | Hawthorn | |
| 54 | Pass | Geelong | |
| 55 | Pass | Carlton | |
| 56 | Todd Nener | East Perth | West Coast |
| 57 | Luke Trew | Western Bulldogs | Essendon |
| 58 | Pass | Brisbane | |
| 59 | Steven Mahar | Belconnen | Sydney |
| 60 | Pass | North Melbourne | |
| 61 | Pass | Port Adelaide | |
| 62 | Pass | Western Bulldogs | |
| 63 | Duncan O'Toole | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 64 | Gavin Milentis | Claremont | Fremantle |
| 65 | Pass | Adelaide | |
| 66 | Peter O'Brien | Old Melburnians | Collingwood |
| 67 | Pass | Richmond | |
| 68 | Pass | Hawthorn | |
| 69 | Pass | Geelong | |
| 70 | Pass | Carlton | |
| 71 | Pass | West Coast | |
| 72 | Andrew Henderson | University Blues | Essendon |
| 73 | Pass | Brisbane | |
| 74 | Leigh Marshall | Sydney | Sydney |
| 75 | Pass | North Melbourne | |
| 76 | Pass | Port Adelaide | |
| 77 | Pass | Western Bulldogs | |
| 78 | James McDonald | Old Xaverians | Melbourne |
| 79 | Pass | Fremantle | |
| 80 | Pass | Adelaide | |
| 81 | Mark Oxley | Castlemaine | Collingwood |
| 82 | Pass | Richmond | |
| 83 | Pass | Hawthorn | |
| 84 | Pass | Geelong | |
| 85 | Pass | Carlton | |
| 86 | Pass | West Coast | |
| 87 | Damien Franken | Donvale | Essendon |
| 88 | Pass | Brisbane | |
| 89 | Adam Ryder | Belconnen | Sydney |
| 90 | Pass | North Melbourne |
As part of Port Adelaide's entry to the AFL they were entitled to recruit some uncontracted players from other AFL clubs and players from the SANFL prior to the national draft. Clubs that lost players were entitled to compensation selections before both the first and second rounds of the 1996 national draft.
| Player | Recruited from |
|---|---|
| Nathan Eagleton | West Adelaide |
| Tom Harley | Norwood |
| Peter Burgoyne | Port Adelaide |
| Stuart Dew | Central District |
| Fabian Francis | Port Adelaide |
| Josh Francou | North Adelaide |
| Roger James | Norwood |
| Brendon Lade | South Adelaide |
| Darren Mead | Port Adelaide |
| Nathan Steinberner | Central District |
| Warren Tredrea | Port Adelaide |
| Michael Wilson | Port Adelaide |
| Stephen Daniels | Norwood |
| Donald Dickie | Norwood |
| Paul Evans | Port Adelaide |
| Scott Bassett | Norwood |
| Rhett Biglands | Woodville-West Torrens |
| Tom Carr | Port Adelaide |
| Stephen Carter | Port Adelaide |
| Mark Conway | Central District |
| Jarrod Cotton | Central District |
| Nigel Fiegert | Port Adelaide |
| Scott Freeborn | Woodville-West Torrens |
| Jake Lynch | Woodville-West Torrens |
| Scott Mathews | Woodville-West Torrens |
| Andrew Osborn | South Adelaide |
| Darryl Poole | Port Adelaide |
| Damian Squire | North Adelaide |
| Jonathon Yerbury | Norwood |
As part of the conditions of the merger between Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Football Club, Brisbane was able to recruit up to eight players from Fitzroy into the newly created Brisbane Lions.