The 1988 VFL draft was the third annual national draft held by the Victorian Football League (now known as the Australian Football League). 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 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 and Robert Handley.
Pre-draft selections[]
| Pick | Player | Drafted to | Recruited from | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stevan Jackson | West Coast | South Fremantle | WAFL |
| 2 | Don Pyke | West Coast | Claremont | WAFL |
| 3 | Peter Sumich | West Coast | South Fremantle | WAFL |
| 4 | Craig Turley | West Coast | West Perth | WAFL |
| 5 | Scott Watters | West Coast | South Fremantle | WAFL |
1988 national draft[]
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | Drafted to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alex McDonald | Ballarat | Hawthorn |
| 1 | 2 | Todd Breman | Subiaco | West Coast |
| 1 | 3 | Carl Dilena | Sturt | Fitzroy |
| 1 | 4 | John McNamara | Port Fairy | North Melbourne |
| 1 | 5 | Chris Naish | Wangaratta | Richmond |
| 1 | 6 | Ray Sterrett | East Fremantle | Geelong |
| 1 | 7 | Leon Cameron | South Warrnambool | Footscray |
| 1 | 8 | Dion Scott | Devonport | Sydney |
| 1 | 9 | Michael Werner | West Torrens | Essendon |
| 1 | 10 | Peter Higgins | Claremont | West Coast |
| 1 | 11 | Mark Bayliss | South Fremantle | Collingwood |
| 1 | 12 | Brad Fox | Perth | Essendon |
| 1 | 13 | Darren Bennett | East Fremantle | Melbourne |
| 1 | 14 | Stephen Byers | New Norfolk | Hawthorn |
| 2 | 15 | Danny Craven | Wangaratta | St Kilda |
| 2 | 16 | David Bain | East Perth | Brisbane Bears |
| 2 | 17 | Brad Edwards | Perth | Fitzroy |
| 2 | 18 | Anthony Stevens | Shepparton | North Melbourne |
| 2 | 19 | Matthew Francis | Ballan | Richmond |
| 2 | 20 | Adrian Fletcher | Glenorchy | Geelong |
| 2 | 21 | Anthony Reynolds | Wodonga | Footscray |
| 2 | 22 | Paul Holdsworth | Clarence | Sydney |
| 2 | 23 | Michael Long | St Mary's | Essendon |
| 2 | 24 | David Hynes | Port Adelaide Magpies | West Coast |
| 2 | 25 | Colin Alexander | Clarence | Collingwood |
| 2 | 26 | David Regan | East Ballarat | Essendon |
| 2 | 27 | Rod Keogh | Castlemaine | Melbourne |
| 2 | 28 | Chris Martin | Seymour | Hawthorn |
| 3 | 29 | Tim Allen | Mornington | St Kilda |
| 3 | 30 | Richard Champion | Woodville | Brisbane Bears |
| 3 | 31 | Brenton Klaebe | Norwood | Fitzroy |
| 3 | 32 | Brad Sholl | Horsham | North Melbourne |
| 3 | 33 | Bruce Lennon | Sturt | Richmond |
| 3 | 34 | Daryn Cresswell | Glenorchy | Geelong |
| 3 | 35 | John Georgiades | Subiaco | Footscray |
| 3 | 36 | Nick Chigwidden | Glenelg | Sydney |
| 3 | 37 | Michael Strickland | Glenorchy | Essendon |
| 3 | 38 | Jeremy Crough | South Bendigo | West Coast |
| 3 | 39 | Scott Russell | Sturt | Collingwood |
| 3 | 40 | Glen Johnston | North Launceston | Carlton |
| 3 | 41 | Michael Hobbes | Eastlake | Melbourne |
| 3 | 42 | Dion Rhook | Hamilton Imperials | Hawthorn |
| 4 | 43 | Daryl Griffiths | North Launceston | St Kilda |
| 4 | 44 | Scott Williamson | Wangaratta Rovers | West Coast |
| 4 | 45 | Damian Simmonds | Wangaratta | Fitzroy |
| 4 | 46 | Simon McCarthy | Rochester | North Melbourne |
| 4 | 47 | Glen Leaf | Mildura Imperials | Richmond |
| 4 | 48 | Scott Jordon | South Launceston | Fitzroy |
| 4 | 49 | Shannon Corcoran | Glenelg | Footscray |
| 4 | 50 | Jim West | Glenelg | Sydney |
| 4 | 51 | Adrian Burns | Dromana | Essendon |
| 4 | 52 | Darren Bartsch | West Adelaide | West Coast |
| 4 | 53 | Michael Smith | Devonport | Collingwood |
| 4 | 54 | Michael Sexton | Sandhurst | Carlton |
| 4 | 55 | Andrew Ford | North Ballarat | Melbourne |
| 4 | 56 | Justin McGrath | Ballarat | Hawthorn |
| 5 | 57 | Pat Lambert | Manangatang | St Kilda |
| 5 | 58 | Lachlan Sim | Moe | Brisbane Bears |
| 5 | 59 | Matthew Dundas | Assumption College | Fitzroy |
| 5 | 60 | Derek Kickett | Central District | North Melbourne |
| 5 | 61 | Julian Moloney | Mildura Imperials | Richmond |
| 5 | 62 | David Welsby | Sturt | Geelong |
| 5 | 63 | Scott Davies | North Launceston | Footscray |
| 5 | 64 | Andrew Bishop | Ainslie | Sydney |
| 5 | 65 | Rod Saunders | Mooroopna | Essendon |
| 5 | 66 | Matt Richardson | Warracknabeal | West Coast |
| 5 | 67 | Peter Divenuto | Sandy Bay | Collingwood |
| 5 | 68 | Grant Povey | Claremont | Carlton |
| 5 | 69 | Matthew Mahoney | Eastlake | Melbourne |
| 5 | 70 | Russell Wilding | Lexton | Hawthorn |
| 6 | 71 | Graeme Kettle | South Launceston | St Kilda |
| 6 | 72 | Chris O'Sullivan | Coralynn | Brisbane Bears |
| 6 | 73 | Stephen Walker | North Hobart | Fitzroy |
| 6 | 74 | Steven Hamilton | North Adelaide | North Melbourne |
| 6 | 75 | Ty Esler | Koo-Wee-Rup | Richmond |
| 6 | 76 | David Preston | Bairnsdale | Geelong |
| 6 | 77 | Robert Bloom | Ulverstone | Footscray |
| 6 | 78 | Jamie Bond | Beaufort | Hawthorn |
| 6 | 79 | Simon Jorgensen | Castlemaine | Essendon |
| 6 | 80 | Damian Berto | St Mary's | West Coast |
| 6 | 81 | Nick Probert | Burnie Hawks | Collingwood |
| 6 | 82 | Anthony Loone | Deloraine | Carlton |
| 6 | 83 | Brian Stynes | Ireland | Melbourne |
| 6 | 84 | Justin Crough | Bungaree | Hawthorn |
| 7 | 85 | Ian Dargie | Subiaco | St Kilda |
| 7 | 86 | Ben Sexton | Sandhurst | Footscray |
| 7 | 87 | Dwaine Kretschmer | North Gambier | Fitzroy |
| 7 | 88 | Justin Staritski | Norwood | North Melbourne |
| 7 | 89 | Adam Crudden | Nar Nar Goon | Richmond |
| 7 | 90 | Kym Nicholls | Norwood | Geelong |
| 7 | 91 | Matthew Queen | Glenorchy | Footscray |
| 7 | 92 | Stephen Vizy | Queanbeyan | North Melbourne |
| 7 | 93 | Paul Hills | North Ballarat | Essendon |
| 7 | 94 | Andrew Geddes | Mornington | West Coast |
| 7 | 95 | Tony Francis | Norwood | Collingwood |
| 7 | 96 (F/S) | Michael James | Ballarat | Carlton |
| 7 | 97 | Tom Grehan | Ireland | Melbourne |
| 7 | 98 | Michael Barrett | Morwell Tigers | Hawthorn |
| 8 | 99 | Dermot McNicholl | Ireland | St Kilda |
| 8 | 100 | David Kupsch | North Adelaide | Brisbane Bears |
| 8 | 101 | Leigh Funcke | Minyip | Fitzroy |
| 8 | 102 | Shaun Holloway | Ballarat | North Melbourne |
| 8 | 103 (F/S) | Sean Bowden | Mildura Imperials | Richmond |
| 8 | 104 | Andrew Gribble | St Peters | Geelong |
| 8 | 105 | Chris Grant | Daylesford | Footscray |
| 8 | 106 (F/S) | Gareth John | Gisborne | Sydney |
| 8 | 107 | Darren Mead | Port Adelaide Magpies | Essendon |
| 8 | 108 | Peter Melesso | Claremont | West Coast |
| 8 | 109 (F/S) | Heath Shephard | Robinvale | Collingwood |
| 8 | 110 (F/S) | Chris Mulcair | Bendigo | Carlton |
| 8 | 111 (F/S) | Tom Kavanagh | Castlemaine | Melbourne |
| 8 | 112 | Troy Reid | Woorinen | Hawthorn |
1989 pre-season draft[]
| Round | Player | Recruited from | Drafted to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Winton | Essendon | St Kilda |
| 2 | John Gastev | West Coast | Brisbane Bears |
| 3 | Wally Matera | West Coast | Fitzroy |
| 4 | Travis Martin-Benyon | Western Districts | North Melbourne |
| 5 | Jeremy Crough | West Coast | Richmond |
| 6 | Andrew Rogers | Essendon | Geelong |
| 7 | Mark Williams | Carlton | Footscray |
| 8 | Robert Teal | Hawthorn | Sydney |
| 9 | Brian Hinkley | Geelong | Essendon |
| 10 | Shane Cable | Perth | West Coast |
| 11 | Murray Wrensted | West Coast | Collingwood |
| 12 | Simon Verbeek | Richmond | Carlton |
| 13 | Dannie Seow | Collingwood | Melbourne |
| 14 | Mathew Shinners | Hawthorn | Hawthorn |
| 15 | Brendan Lowther | Carlton | St Kilda |
| 16 | David Wittey | St Kilda | Brisbane Bears |
| 17 | Kevin Caton | West Coast | Fitzroy |
| 18 | Leigh Tudor | North Melbourne | North Melbourne |
| 19 | Matt Richardson | West Coast | Richmond |
| 20 | Spiro Malakellis | Geelong | Geelong |
| 21 | Tim Harrington | Collingwood | Footscray |
| 22 | Darren Ogier | North Melbourne | Sydney |
| 23 | Paul McWilliam | Sturt | Essendon |
| 24 | Clinton Browning | East Fremantle | West Coast |
| 25 | James Pyke | Norwood | Collingwood |
| 26 | Ashley Matthews | Carlton | Carlton |
| 27 | James Tomkins | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 28 | Jon Gahan | Hawthorn | Hawthorn |
| 29 | Tony Elshaug | Collingwood | St Kilda |
| 30 | Simon Hose | Sydney | Brisbane Bears |
| 31 | Peter Bourke | Essendon | Fitzroy |
| 32 | Chris Lindsay | West Torrens | North Melbourne |
| 33 | Stuart Griffiths | Old Melbournians | Richmond |
| 34 | Darren Savickas | Geelong | Geelong |
| 35 | Tony Evans | St Kilda | Footscray |
| 36 | Brett Scott | Sydney | Sydney |
| 37 | Rodney Lawson | Kalkee | Essendon |
| 38 | Shane Ellis | East Fremantle | West Coast |
| 39 | John McKay | Old Xaverians | Collingwood |
| 40 | Paul Payne | Melbourne | Carlton |
| 41 | Michael Atkins | Footscray | Melbourne |
| 42 | Brett Sherriff | Hawthorn | Hawthorn |
| 43 | Lazar Vidovic | Castlemaine | St Kilda |
| 44 | Glen Reeves | Hawthorn | Brisbane Bears |
| 45 | Dean Lupson | Essendon | Fitzroy |
| 46 | Tony Furey | North Melbourne | North Melbourne |
| 47 | Justin Paul | Richmond | Richmond |
| 48 | Garry Phillips | Old Haileyburians | Geelong |
| 49 | Jolyon Keeble | Hawthorn | Footscray |
| 50 | Michael Phyland | Sydney | Sydney |
| 51 | Gary Barrow | Essendon | Essendon |
| 52 | Richard Geary | South Fremantle | West Coast |
| 53 | Nick Foley | Narrandera | Collingwood |
| 54 | Tim Taylor | Therry | Carlton |
| 55 | Matthew Febey | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 56 | Adam Ladbroke | Brisbane Bears | Hawthorn |