Sydney Swans General Manager of List Strategy and Recruitment Kinnear Beatson says the club will keep an open mind when looking at this year's draft class as they finalise their preparations for the 2022 NAB AFL Draft on Monday night.
 
Heading into his 16th year at the Sydney Swans, Beatson is working hard behind-the-scenes with the Recruitment and List Management team to determine their approach towards picks no.14 and 17.
 
The last time the club had two first round picks was 2020, where Logan McDonald and Braeden Campbell were recruited with picks no.4 and 5 respectively. Given the club's positive in this year's Draft, Beatson is keen to ensure all factors are considered before making any final decisions.
 
"We're working through getting our talent order finalised, which (National Recruiting Manager) Simon Darynmple has done," Beatson said.
 
"That comes with ranking the players and grouping them in the event you have a certain player go earlier in the Draft. The final part of the equation is looking at the various scenarios and opportunities that we might want to explore, regarding the trading of picks during the Draft."
 
"If we were to move forward in the Draft, we need to determine what we would be prepared to give for that, but also if someone came to us with an offer, for them to move forward and us to move back, what would our asking price be?

"We're anticipating night one of the Draft is going to be pretty busy in that area. If a lot of selections change hands, we will wait and see, but we're expecting a lot of calls to be made."
 
The club has had some movement amongst their playing list for the 2023 season, with Lewis Taylor, Barry O'Connor, James Bell, Ben Ronke, and Sam Naismith bidding farewell to their time at the club, while the Swans welcomed Aaron Francis during the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
 
Francis joined the club following the completion of a deal with Essendon involving the Swans future 4th round selection and a swap of selections 37 and 42.
 
 
Beatson insists Francis' arrival isn't indicative of their intentions in this year's Draft, and says history suggests there needs to be a balance between looking at key talents amongst the player pool while also looking the needs of the playing squad.
 
"You are always aware and conscious of our needs, in terms of the list profile, but at the same time we're conscious of big failures that have occurred in previous drafts, where teams have taken a type of player because it suited their needs, rather than taking the best player possible" he said.
 
"There is always a bit of a balance with that, and that is part of the tricky aspect when it comes to recruiting."
 
While the long-term future of the club remains a priority, that is another factor that Beatson says the club is carefully considering given they have two first round picks at their peril.
 
He could not disclose whether the club will be active in trading their picks but will always be flexible given the nature of the Draft process.
 
"It hasn't been very often where we have had two first round selections, now whether we use both of them or any of them will remain to be seen, he said."
 
"We are open minded about how we can utilize those selections to better place us for either this year's, or next year's draft, or even both.
 
"These are the different scenarios that confront us now, whereas in the past, it never did.
 
"I think realistically, it's about building towards the future but I know John (Longmire) and the coaches won't place any limits on them, and nor will we.
 
"We want these guys to be long-term prospects of the club."