The 1987 VFL draft was the second draft to provide recruitment opportunities to clubs participating in Australian rules football's elite Victorian Football League. Held after the end of the 1987 season, it consisted only of the national draft itself.

National draft

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The format of the second VFL draft was much the same as that for the inaugural draft held the previous year. In each of the five rounds, the 13 participating clubs (except West 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, but Sydney 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, the Brisbane Bears also kept the sole recruitment rights for all players from Queensland, and although country 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 Australians Chris McDermott, Andrew Jarman and Simon Tregenza all chose to stay at home and later became part of Adelaide'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 with Tasmania over signing for Essendon.

The first choice was heavyweight ruckman Richard Lounder, who only played four senior matches for Richmond 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 included Graham Wright of Collingwood and Melbourne's Stephen Tingay.

National draft selections

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Round Pick Player Drafted to Recruited from League
1 1 Richard Lounder Richmond Central District SANFL
1 2 Chris McDermott Brisbane Bears Glenelg SANFL
1 3 Graham Wright Collingwood East Devonport Northern Tasmanian Football League
1 4 Andrew Brockhurst Fitzroy South Adelaide SANFL
1 5 Michael Quirk St Kilda Myrtleford OMNFL
1 6 Andrew Rogers Essendon Woodville SANFL
1 7 Darren Davies Footscray North Hobart TFL State League
1 8 Darren Jones Geelong Moe Latrobe Valley Football League
1 9 Michael Murphy North Melbourne Glenelg SANFL
1 10 Michael Parsons Sydney North Adelaide SANFL
1 11 Tim McNeil Melbourne Norwood SANFL
1 12 Grant Williams Hawthorn Sandy Bay TFL State League
1 13 Peter Bubner Carlton Central District SANFL
2 14 Wayne Peters Richmond Morwell Latrobe Valley Football League
2 15 Andrew Jarman Brisbane Bears North Adelaide SANFL
2 16 Chris Grumley Collingwood Sale North Gippsland Football League
2 17 Chris Waterson Fitzroy Cohuna Central Murray Football League
2 18 Patrick Browne St Kilda North Albury OMNFL
2 19 Jamie Cox Essendon Wynyard Northern Tasmanian Football League
2 20 Stuart Wigney Footscray Leongatha Latrobe Valley Football League
2 21 Shane Korth Geelong Natimuk Horsham & District Football League
2 22 Scott Christie North Melbourne Strathmerton Murray Football League
2 23 Scott Salisbury Sydney Glenelg SANFL
2 24 Mark Ducker Melbourne Norwood SANFL
2 25 Damien Trezise Hawthorn Union
2 26 Steven Oliver Carlton Castlemaine Bendigo Football League
3 27 Brendon Gale Richmond Burnie TFL State League
3 28 Andrew Bishop Brisbane Bears Ainslie ACT Football League
3 29 Andrew Pascoe Collingwood Norwood SANFL
3 30 Ashley Byrne Fitzroy Boort North Central Football League
3 31 Jamie Keane St Kilda Koroit Hampden Football League
3 32 John Cook Essendon Hamilton Imperials Western Border Football League
3 33 Rod Gunn Footscray Hamilton Western Border Football League
3 34 Stephen Hewitt Geelong Warracknabeal Wimmera Football League
3 35 Craig Patrick North Melbourne Wangaratta Rovers OMNFL
3 36 Tony Vigona Sydney Jerilderie Murray Football League
3 37 Andrew Obst Melbourne Port Adelaide SANFL
3 38 John Polkinghorne Hawthorn North Ballarat BFL
3 39 David Kernahan Carlton Glenelg SANFL
4 40 Bevan Cox Richmond Wodonga OMNFL
4 41 Michael Kennedy Brisbane Bears Queanbeyan ACT Football League
4 42 Tim Wilson Collingwood North Launceston TFL State League
4 43 Darren Wheildon Fitzroy Newborough Mid Gippsland Football League
4 44 Bob Jones St Kilda Devonport TFL State League
4 45 David Grenvold Essendon Glenelg SANFL
4 46 Gary Gunn Footscray Hamilton Western Border Football League
4 47 Stephen McQueen Geelong North Hobart TFL State League
4 48 Liam Pickering North Melbourne Stawell Wimmera Football League
4 49 Jim Silvestro Sydney Traralgon North Gippsland Football League
4 50 Stephen Tingay Melbourne Shepparton GVFL
4 51 Anthony Dessent Hawthorn Maffra Latrobe Valley Football League
4 52 Stephen Gemmill Carlton Cobram Murray Football League
5 53 Andrew Wisken Richmond Hastings MPNFL
5 54 Adam Ladbrook Brisbane Bears Pakenham MPNFL
5 55 Brendan Tranter Collingwood Maryborough BFL
5 56 Keith Allan Fitzroy Central District SANFL
5 57 Damian Kitschke St Kilda Sturt SANFL
5 58 Peter Bennett Essendon North Adelaide SANFL
5 59 Simon Tregenza Footscray Port Adelaide SANFL
5 60 Pat Gribble Geelong Traralgon North Gippsland Football League
5 61 Darren Read North Melbourne Leongatha Latrobe Valley Football League
5 62 David Querzoli Sydney West Torrens SANFL
5 63 Jay Viney Melbourne Sturt SANFL
5 64 Peter Nunn Hawthorn Koo Wee Rup Ellinbank & District Football League
5 65 Dean Adams Carlton Shepparton GVFL
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References

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  1. ^ Lane, Tim (22 November 2003). "Two-minute interview". The Age. Retrieved 16 May 2007.