Carlton have launched a succession of AFL draft raids, giving themselves an extra round-one pick and forcing the hands of rival clubs in the top 10.
If this is Stephen Silvagni's last draft at the Blues -- he would not comment on speculation that he is about to leave -- their long-time list boss is going out with a bang.
The busy Blues were the glaring exception as much of round one otherwise went according to script.
It comes a year after Silvagni orchestrated the controversial live trade of round-one picks with Adelaide that brought Liam Stocker to the Blues.
"We're happy with the result ... we were able to turn our pick nine into two first-round picks," Silvagni said.
"It was a big night, but that's our job ... Carlton supporters should be delighted with what we got through."
Asked if this is his last draft at Carlton, Silvagni replied "there's a bit of interest on that. But tonight is about what we've brought into the club, two really good players."
As expected on Wednesday night, Gold Coast used their prized top picks on long-time friends Matt Rowell at No.1 and then Noah Anderson at No.2.
Sydney sprang the first surprise when they picked SA midfielder Dylan Stephens at No.5, but a few minutes later the Blues went to work.
First they bid on Fremantle academy nomination Liam Henry at No.9 and did the same with GWS academy prospect Tom Green at No.10.
The Dockers and Giants matched Carlton's bids to secure their players, but they also had to give up picks lower in the draft.
The Blues then immediately did live trades of picks with Gold Coast and Port Adelaide, meaning they gained an extra round-one selection.
They recruited Brodie Kemp, who is recovering from a knee reconstruction, at 17 and Sam Philp was a round-one bolter when Carlton took him at 20.
"We probably got the boy (Kemp) that we had ranked around that pick nine-11, knowing he could slide a little bit," Silvagni said.
"I guess the pick we got at 20 was a bit of a free shot for us."
There was pre-draft speculation that Carlton and Adelaide might do another high-profile trade, but the Crows stuck with their first pick at No.6 and recruited key position player Fischer McAsey.
As predicted, Melbourne used their No.3 selection to recruit former basketballer Luke Jackson.
No ruckman has gone so high in the draft since 2008, when Nic Naitanui went to West Coast at No.2.
The draft continues on Thursday night with the remaining rounds, while the pre-season draft is on Friday morning.
Carlton are expected to recruit former Gold Coast player Jack Martin on Friday after failing to work out a trade with the Suns for him.