Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.

And that is one of the reasons why the life of an AFL recruiter can be so challenging. A group of talent scouts at the same suburban ground watching an under-18s match can see different attributes in different players.

Recruiting is an inexact science and generally the deeper they dive into the talent pool at the National Draft, the probability of success proportionately declines.

At the pointy end of the ballot, however, it’s a different story but the pressure to make the right call is undeniable.

Generally, if clubs are getting top 10 picks they’re in a rebuilding phase and capitalising on having access to the high end talent is essential to the long-term plan. Some of it comes down to luck, particularly with respect to injuries, but the recruiters pore over detail, leaving as little to chance as possible.

They scrutinise everything, both on and off field.

Leading into the 2022 draft the West Coast Eagles recruiting and list management staff considered myriad options. They held #2, the highest position they had held in the selection order since 1996 when they opened the batting and selected Michael Gardiner. 

They had not had a top 5 selection since Andrew Gaff (#4) in 2010.

In the current environment where clubs are able to work deals around their draft selections, the Eagles had a number of suitors wanting to get busy earlier in the ballot.

For the Eagles the conundrum was whether to take one quality player with the second pick or explore the option of trading their position for two first round picks; to get two outstanding prospects from a draft pool that exuded a plethora of exciting youngsters rather than one.

While the draft boasted some exceptional teens, the Eagles staff assessed that little separated a group of potential top 10 draftees. So they traded pick #2 and received #8 and #12 (which became 9 and 14 after a couple of father/son selections).

History shows they secured Reuben Ginbey at #9 and Elijah Hewett #14. Had they been able to cherry pick their players those two exceptional young WA prospects would have been prominent on the wish list.

Ginbey has played all 12 games this season and has been exceptional in his debut year, while Hewett had a four-week interruption with an ankle injury but has shown all the signs that had recruiters excited.

But there would not be a club who had access to players in the first round who would not feel a level of satisfaction with the players they landed.

It is a small sample size of just 12 rounds, but there is every indication the 2022 ballot will go down as a super draft.

Nine players inside the top 10 have already played senior football; not just played but impacted at the top highest level. The exception has been Elijah Tsatas, landed by Essendon with selection #5 who has been thwarted by injury.

Tall forward Arron Cadman is playing regularly at GWS, Will Ashcroft, gifted to Brisbane as a father-son selection, has adapted comfortably to the tempo of elite competition and North Melbourne pair Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw have lived up to the hype.

Bailey Humphrey has settled nicely into Gold Coast, so much so that he has signed a four-year extension with the Suns, Cameron McKenzie has shown great poise with Hawthorn and Jhye Clark looked good in early matches at Geelong.

Mattaes Philipou, secured by St Kilda after the Eagles took Ginbey, has played every game for the Saints.

Predicting wonderful careers for all of the aforementioned players comes with a degree of confidence. There are also a few others further down the order – like Ollie Hollands (Carlton), Max Michalanney (Adelaide) and Josh Weddle (Hawthorn) who look to have all the traits.

The class of ’22 looks super.