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Port Adelaide drafted Tyson Goldsack as an AFL rookie more than a year after he retired - while Adelaide redrafted Bryce Gibbs for administrative reasons.
Collingwood premiership player Tyson Goldsack's retirement backflip is complete after the 33-year-old was selected by Port Adelaide in Thursday's AFL rookie draft.
Goldsack retired at the end of 2019 and had planned to play with Port in the SANFL this year, but the club's reserves team withdrew from the competition due to COVID-19 factors.
The defender is expected to line up in the SANFL to help the Power develop their young players.
"We think we'll be pretty young in the SANFL this year and a mature player like Tyson will help those guys with on-field leadership and development," Power recruiting manager Geoff Parker said.
The Power also snared Taj Schofield, the son of premiership midfielder Jarrad, as a father-son rookie selection.
In a curious twist, former Carlton No.1 draft pick Bryce Gibbs was taken with Adelaide's top pick in the rookie draft, with the retired Crows player drafted for administrative reasons.
"It's more of an administrative thing for Bryce to come on now under AFL rules, TPP," Adelaide recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie said.
"He will come on now and then in the new year he will go back off the list and retire, as he already had retired. And that will free up a spot for the SSP period."
Richmond 2017 premiership forward Jacob Townsend landed at his fourth AFL club when he was drafted by Gold Coast, while North Melbourne pounced on former Tigers and Suns player Connor Menadue.
West Coast found a rookie spot for premiership forward Daniel Venables, who is dealing with ongoing concussion issues.
In total, 26 players were selected in the rookie draft - including 12 new draftees, while 10 players were rookied by their AFL clubs after being previously delisted from their senior list.
Earlier in the day, midfielder Jackson Hately was the sole pick in the pre-season draft, headinf to Adelaide after Greater Western Sydney and the Crows had previously been unable to settle on a trade.