The calendar has ticked over to November and that means the anxious wait is almost over for AFL hopefuls.

The NAB AFL National Draft is set to take place at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Thursday 27 November.

Carlton’s recruiting team has been busy bedding down its final list for draft night. Their task involves revisiting the 170-plus interviews they’ve conducted, reviewing test results, re-watching tapes and going through individuals one by one.

At the forefront of the Blues’ draft process will be seven key qualities: leadership, competitiveness, kicking skills, speed, agility, stamina and class.

National recruiting manager Shane Rogers says the process isn’t just about the skills of draft hopefuls, but their personal qualities too.

“We’ve said a lot this year that our leaders here are good, but we need to improve them and we need to get more of them – so that’s why we’ve got a focus on leadership,” Rogers said.

“We have some terrific young leaders coming through, the likes of Troy Menzel and Patrick Cripps, but we also need to continue to bring leaders in.

“Then you look at areas like competitiveness, which is not about being big strong and tough, but about attitude. Craig Bradley was a great competitor because he never gave up and he never stopped running – we want players who can bring that to the table.”

Carlton is expecting to use four selections in the National Draft, including picks 19, 28, 61 and 65.