The North Melbourne Kangaroos have selected South Adelaide midfielder Jason Horne-Francis with the club’s first ever No.1 NAB AFL Draft pick.

The Kangaroos knocked back multiple trade offers for the prized selection to snap up the game-changing 18-year-old.

A mercurial 185cm prospect, Horne-Francis brings physical aggression and the ability to dominate the middle of the park as well as push forward to menace opposition defences.

Together with Jy Simpkin (pick 12 in the 2016 NAB AFL Draft), Luke Davies-Uniacke (pick 4, 2017), Jaidyn Stephenson (pick 6, 2017), Tarryn Thomas (pick 8, 2018), Tom Powell (pick 13, 2020) and Will Phillips (pick 3, 2020), he will form the nucleus of the Roos' midfield brigade for many years to come.

Kangaroos legend Malcolm Blight was on hand in Adelaide to present Horne-Francis with his jumper.

"I can’t wait to get into things with the North Melbourne footy club," Horne-Francis said after receiving his No.6 guernsey from Blight.

"I’m really excited and it’s a really special moment I’ve got to share with some great people. North are [going] in the right direction. They’ve got a lot of young midfielders and I think I can learn a lot from a lot of the players at the club.

"It’s a dream for a lot of players to make their debut in Round 1. I hope that’s the case for me and I feel pretty well prepared and pretty ready for it."

Horne-Francis' capabilities on the ball were on full display for South Adelaide in the SANFL preliminary final against Glenelg, when he racked up 24 disposals and three goals in a brilliant match-winning performance.

He averaged 16.5 disposals, 3.2 clearances and 4.2 tackles across 20 games in a breakout 2021 season for South Adelaide, after making his senior debut for Panthers at the age of 16.

Most at home as an inside midfielder, Horne-Francis kicked 15 goals in 20 games across the season, while also spending some time developing his all-around game on the half-back flank.

"We are really happy to bring in a player of Jason’s quality," Kangaroos national recruiting manager Mark Finnigan said.

"He has produced a high level of football at a number of different levels as a junior, including SANFL League over the last two seasons.

"Jason has proven he can play all three zones effectively. He gives us plenty of flexibility with his inside/outside balance, power, speed, aerial competency, ground level work and scoreboard impact.

"He is gifted offensively, however, one of the standout features of his game is his ability to stay in the game at all times with an elite defensive mindset. A lot of players have to learn this in the first couple of seasons in the system, but Jason has displayed his appetite to tackle, pressure and defend over the last few years.

"Being picked as No.1 is a credit to him and his family. He has great character, work ethic and leadership. We look forward to Jason being a Shinboner for a long time to come."

A member of the 2021 AFL Academy side that took on Geelong’s VFL program, Horne-Francis also captained the South Australia under 19 representative team against Western Australia ahead of the draft.

His impressive footballing ability is matched by his strong athleticism, with his recorded 82cm running vertical jump indicative of his natural power and explosiveness when attacking the contest.

Kangaroos move up the draft order

Before drafting Horne-Francis on Wednesday night, the Kangaroos completed trades with the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood to improve the club's position ahead of Thursday night's completion of the draft.

The Roos will now have three picks in the draft's second round at 22, 34 and 37. The club's late-round picks will also move up the selection order. 

2021's top 20 draft picks

1. Jason Horne-Francis (North Melbourne)
2. Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs)
3. Finn Callaghan (Greater Western Sydney)
4. Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
5. Mac Andrew (Gold Coast)
6. Josh Rachele (Adelaide)
7. Josh Ward (Hawthorn)
8. Jye Amiss (Fremantle)
9. Josh Gibcus (Richmond)
10. Neil Erasmus (Fremantle) 
11. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda) 
12. Josh Sinn (Port Adelaide) 
13. Ben Hobbs (Essendon) 
14. Campbell Chesser (West Coast)
15. Leek Alleer (Greater Western Sydney)  
16. Darcy Wilmot (Brisbane) 
17. Tom Brown (Richmond) 
18. Angus Sheldrick (Sydney Swans)
19. Jacob van Rooyen (Melbourne) 
20. Kai Lohmann (Brisbane)