The1987 VFL draft was the seconddraft to provide recruitment opportunities to clubs participating inAustralian rules football's eliteVictorian Football League. Held after the end of the 1987 season, it consisted only of thenational draft itself.
The format of the second VFL draft was much the same as that for theinaugural draft held the previous year. In each of the five rounds, the 13 participating clubs (exceptWest Coast, which instead received complete access to all West Australian footballers for the second year) all received one selection, the order of which was set in the reverse of the previous season's finishing positions. The minimum age for draftees was again 16, butSydney was the only club allowed to draft players from New South Wales who were under the age of 19.
Meanwhile, in addition to being involved in the national draft, theBrisbane Bears also kept the sole recruitment rights for all players from Queensland, and althoughcountry zoning had now finished, Victorian clubs retained exclusive use of Metropolitan Zones.
Like the previous draft, some players did not join the club that selected them. Notably, South AustraliansChris McDermott,Andrew Jarman andSimon Tregenza all chose to stay at home and later became part ofAdelaide's inaugural AFL squad, with second pick overall McDermott becoming the first captain of the team. Meanwhile,Jamie Cox opted for a first class cricket career withTasmania over signing forEssendon.
The first choice was heavyweight ruckmanRichard Lounder, who only played four senior matches forRichmond and has been described as the most derided number one national draft pick.[1] However, Richmond had more success with the second round pick,Brendon 'Benny' Gale, who became a firm favourite at the club during his 244-game career. Other 1987 draftees of note includedGraham Wright ofCollingwood andMelbourne'sStephen Tingay.