FIRST-ROUND Demon draftee Xavier Taylor can take on all types in defence, with the recent selection No. 11 unphased by his opposition on the training track.

The 192cm defender isn’t limited to shutting down talls, with General Manager of AFL Football Alan Richardson already impressed by his versatility.

“He’s a terrific athlete,” Richardson says.

“You could potentially put him on Kozzy if Kozzy was playing on the other team and then you put him on van Rooyen.

“That's the sort of player that we’re going to get.”

The Eastern Ranges product is a cool customer, having been named best afield in the Coates Talent League Grand Final with 25 disposals and 15 marks despite having his boots stolen before the game.

Richardson says the 18-year-old’s offensive game can be just as much of a weapon as his defence.

“He turns defence into attack really quickly, so he does also help our offense,” he said.

“He's got the capability to play elsewhere... but he'll probably play more behind the ball I would think.

“He's going to be exciting.”

Fellow first-rounder Latrelle Pickett is also turning heads with his attacking credentials after being selected just one pick later.

“Latrelle is a really creative forward, he’s a goalkicker,” Richardson says.

“Kingy's already been quite public about how he wants as much focus on attack as we have historically on defence. Latrelle will complement what we do there.”

King remains coy about the two draftees Round 1 chances.

“Both are pretty keen to get started Round 1 - that’s their goal,” the new Demons coach said.

 “We’ll see how they go the next couple of months after the Christmas break.”

Melbourne’s remaining National draftee Tom Matthews will build into the year after arriving at the club with a PCL injury.

The powerful small forward was turning heads during a dominant pre-season before being sidelined for most of his top age draft year.

“He's a really tough Gippsland Power boy - he's a ripping young man,” Richardson said.

“Unfortunately, he's injured at the moment. Jack Viney has an Achilles tendon that’s dagging him a bit so they're working together.

“Poor old Tommy's getting smashed at the minute from Jack and I mean getting smashed. It's a great initiation for him. He's going to be beauty.”

The Demons rounded out their draft hand by selecting Riley Onley in the Rookie Draft.

“He's one of those picks, recruiters often say it – ‘we can't believe he was still there’,” Richardson said.

“He was one that we had relatively high for the potential for that third pick, particularly if Tommy (Matthews) had been gone.”

Standing at 194cm with the speed and athleticism to run through the midfield, Onley boasts a rare athletic profile.

The strongly-built youngster averaged 25.5 disposals a game for the Murray Bushrangers this season.

Melbourne’s remaining first year player Oscar Berry joined the club as a Category B rookie following four years of college basketball with Fairleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey and the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Berry’s brother Jordan played American Football in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, while his brother Wilson currently plays for the University of Kentucky.

Oscar played Australian football until the age of 15 when he moved to the States with his family and now returns aged 23.

“I worked with his old man at the Bombers years ago, so he comes out of a footy family,” Richardson said.

“He also will likely be played down back, it's probably going to help him just to be task orientated as opposed to trying to initiate play.

“He's really dedicated.”