The 1988 VFL draft, held on the 9th of November 1988, was the third annual national draft held by the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(now known as the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

). It consisted of a pre-season draft and a national draft. In 1988 there were 112 picks to be drafted between 14 teams in the national draft. The

Hawthorn Football Club 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 Hawt ...

received the first pick in the national draft, after receiving it from St Kilda in the first ever trade involving draft picks, in return for Paul Harding,

Peter Russo Peter Russo (born 29 October 1959) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1980s. After a 1988 season where he played only eight senior games, Russo, alongside Paul ...

and

Robert Handley Robert 'Chopper' Handley (born 8 January 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the late 1980s. Handley, who could play both as a wingman and on the ba ...

Pre-draft selections

1988 national draft

1989 pre-season draft

References

External links