1. GEELONG
Had Patrick Dangerfield, Lachie Henderson, Scott Selwood and Zac Smith in Cats' colours within a week. Negotiated without rancour, put themselves back in premiership contention and made it easy for Steve Johnson to find a new home.

2. MELBOURNE
Put itself in an outstanding position in the draft, turning its original first-round pick, No.6 overall, into picks No.3 and 7 through some canny deals with the draft-points-hungry Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. Jeremy Howe's aerial feats will be missed but Jake Melksham, Tom Bugg and Ben Kennedy could prove handy pick-ups.

3. ESSENDON
Worked hard to turn the Jake Carlisle negotiation its way and landed pick No.5 and Craig Bird as a result, while retaining two second-round picks. Also beat the Sydney Swans and Fremantle to win Brisbane Lion Matthew Leuenberger's signature, while with picks No.4 and 5 the Bombers can set themselves up for a new era under John Worsfold.

4. COLLINGWOOD
Landed one of the AFL's most exciting young midfielders in Adam Treloar, and withstood stiff competition for James Aish and Jeremy Howe without getting sucked into a bidding war – both players moved for less money than they could have commanded elsewhere. Coach Nathan Buckley now has the squad he needs to make a genuine tilt for a flag.

5. ADELAIDE
Wanted three picks inside the top 30 but seized the irresistible opportunity to bring exciting South Australian Troy Menzel home from Ikon Park. Made the best of a bad situation with Patrick Dangerfield, extracting a higher price than it would have received via free agency compensation through a fair trade with Geelong. In Paul Seedsman and Curtly Hampton, the Crows picked up two good ball-users off half-back.

6. GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
Gathered points for academy graduates Jacob Hopper and Matthew Kennedy, took a punt on three-time Geelong premiership star Steve Johnson and bolstered its ruck division with Cats free agent Dawson Simpson, all while reducing its list and setting itself up for next year's draft.

7. SYDNEY SWANS
Despite being constrained by trading restrictions, found an able replacement for retired ruckman Mike Pyke in Eagle Callum Sinclair, added a key defender with Western Bulldog Michael Talia at the 11th hour and brought in points for their Academy graduates headed by Callum Mills. Stable and ready to pounce.

8. CARLTON
The Blues entered full rebuild mode, sacrificing Troy Menzel along with wantaway senior players Chris Yarran, Lachie Henderson and Tom Bell, to stockpile four top-20 selections (No.1, 8, 11 and 19) in this year's draft. Ex-Giant Lachie Plowman can play and Bell was the only departed Blue who performed consistently in 2015.

9. WEST COAST
A bit of a revolving door with Jack Redden, Lewis Jetta and Jonathan Giles coming in, Scott Selwood, Matt Rosa and Callum Sinclair departing. Solid without being spectacular, but acted with class and common sense. Jetta's run seems ideally suited to Domain Stadium's long dimensions.

10. ST KILDA
A traumatic trade period in the end with the drama surrounding Jake Carlisle overshadowing an ultimately solid performance. The Saints paid a reasonable price for Carlisle, their ability to involve the Sydney Swans in a three-way deal ensuring they kept a first-round pick, downgrading from No.5 to 14, but the pressure on the former Essendon tall will be enormous. Former Pie Nathan Freeman will prove a steal if he returns to full fitness and delivers on the junior form that saw him taken with pick No.10 in the 2013 draft.

11. HAWTHORN
Threw life into the trade period when it positioned itself to pounce on Jake Carlisle by offering Essendon picks No.15 (the good return from trading Jed Anderson to North Melbourne) and 18. Missed out on the Bomber tall, but retaining two picks in the top 20 of the draft should enable them to target inside-midfield successors to Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis. Good operators.

12. PORT ADELAIDE
Paid a significant price to get spearhead Charlie Dixon – putting itself out of the first round of the draft for the third year in a row – but the Power obviously rate the former Sun highly. Good to see Port give 2012's No.4 draft pick, Jimmy Toumpas, a fresh start in his home state. Have to retain players now and start to regenerate with youth.

13. BRISBANE LIONS
Once the Lions abandoned the hardline rhetoric and let their list manager get on with his job, they did well. Were very pragmatic and have filled the midfield hole left by Jack Redden and James Aish with Ryan Bastinac, Tom Bell and youngster Jarrad Jansen, while Josh Walker should solve some of their problems in attack.

14. WESTERN BULLDOGS
Very quiet with retention set to be the focus in 2016 as they back their list to organically improve. Targeted two-time Hawthorn premiership defender Matt Suckling, who will be a handy pick-up, then turned pick No.11 into 20 and 21 before off-loading out-of-favour key defender Michael Talia.

15. GOLD COAST
Missed out on key targets Jeremy Howe and Paul Seedsman, but landed an experienced midfield hand in former Eagle Matt Rosa. The Suns got a good return for Charlie Dixon, improved their 2015 draft position through Harley Bennell's departure to Fremantle, and then brokered astute deals that give them a strong hand in next year's draft.

16. FREMANTLE
Again missed out on a key forward despite its concerted effort to secure Cam McCarthy from the Giants. Harley Bennell came cheaply given he is an A-grade talent. At home, at a strong club, the former Sun could finally deliver on his prodigious talent.

17. NORTH MELBOURNE
Aimed high but missed out on key targets Adam Treloar, Hamish Hartlett, James Aish, Jeremy Howe and Paul Seedsman. Swooped on Hawk Jed Anderson when a host of other clubs were circling. Giving up pick No.15 to Hawthorn was a high price to pay, but the Roos did well to get back into the first-round of the draft in the three-club deal that sent Ryan Bastinac to the Brisbane Lions.

18. RICHMOND
Missed out on key target Treloar, but it's hard to knock the Tigers given they held their nerve and got Chris Yarran for pick No.19 and Giants inside midfielder Jacob Townsend for a steal. Should they, or could they, have done more? They will say no, but success-starved supporters can be a demanding lot.