Port Adelaide selected Jed McEntee in the 2021 Mid-Season Rookie Draft, with the midfielder/forward since playing four AFL games for the club. Image: AFL Photos.

PORT ADELAIDE will have the choice to pick up a player at Wednesday night’s NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft having previously taken up that option twice since 2019.

In the inaugural mid-season rookie draft in 2019, just 13 picks were used including the ninth pick by Port Adelaide to claim former Fremantle midfielder Cam Sutcliffe.

Sutcliffe would go on to play nine games over the next season and a half before being delisted. He remains the captain of Port Adelaide’s SANFL side.

The mid-season draft was not held in 2020 but in 2021, 22 selections were made.

Port Adelaide used its pick 13 to grab Sturt midfielder Jed McEntee who has since played four AFL games for the club.

All but three clubs currently have list vacancies ahead of Wednesday night’s event with Melbourne, Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs unable to participate.

As it stands up to 20 selections can be made, although clubs may opt to pass on picking up any new players.

Port Adelaide opened a berth on its AFL list by placing young defender Jake Pasini on the inactive list after he suffered a long-term knee injury this month.

Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies indicated on Monday that the club had identified two or three players it was interested in but would not participate unless one was available at its pick, which stands as pick eight.

"We won't participate in the mid-season draft unless the players we have identified get through to our pick," Davies said at Alberton on Monday.

"We have some names that we might look at if they get through to our pick. We would certainly participate then, but we are not going to pick someone right now who is only going to strengthen our SANFL team from a 'now' perspective.

"We need to take a longer-term view. If we bring someone in, they need to be coming in for two or three years in the first instance to give them an opportunity to actually play AFL for Port Adelaide.

"But the reality of the mid-season draft is there are not many players who would come in and have an impact straight away. There will be one or two. But most clubs would be looking at players with a long-term view."

The NAB AFL Mid-Season Draft will be available to watch live and exclusively on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App on Wednesday June 1 from 6.30pm AEST.

Final Mid-Season Rookie Draft Order

First round
1. West Coast (via Oscar Allen injury)
2. North Melbourne (via Miller Bergman injury)
3. Essendon (via Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti retirement)
4. Adelaide (via Rory Sloane injury)
5. GWS Giants (via Josh Fahey injury)
6. Hawthorn (via open list spot)
7. Gold Coast (via Ben King injury)
8. Port Adelaide (via Jake Pasini injury)
9. Collingwood (via Nathan Kreuger injury)
10. Richmond (via Josh Caddy retirement)
11. Sydney (via open list spot)
12. Geelong (via open list spot)
13. Carlton (via open list spot)
14. St Kilda (via Nick Coffield injury)
15. Fremantle (via open list spot)

Second round
16. West Coast (via Luke Edwards injury)
17. North Melbourne (via Tom Lynch retirement)
18. Essendon (via Nik Cox injury)
19. Adelaide (via Paul Seedsman injury)
20. Hawthorn (via Tyler Brockman injury)
21. Collingwood (via Jordan Roughead retirement)
22. Carlton (via Oscar McDonald injury)
23. Fremantle (via Jye Amiss injury)