To mark the 30th year of the national draft, Fairfax Media has compiled an all-time draft list by the numbers.
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It begins at pick No.80 and counts down to No.1, taking in the first year of the draft in 1986 up to the most recent in 2015.
It does not list the best 80 players drafted; rather, the best player taken from each of the 80 selections – for instance, the best No.1 pick, the best No.2 pick, and so on.
Go online to view the picks so far, have your say on our selections, and be sure to come back to realfooty.com.au to vote on the best top-20 picks of all time.
No. 15 Pick
Scott Camporeale - Carlton, 1994, 252 games
The shortlist: Andrew Jarman (Brisbane, 1987, 110 games) Max Hudghton (St Kilda, 1996, 234 games), Brady Rawlings (North Melbourne, 1998, 245 games)
Jarman was freakishly talented but played only 110 games in the AFL, and Rawlings probably had the best record –winning the Roos' best and fairest three times although all in years North never made the finals. Camporeale was a part of the all-conquering Carlton team of 1995, and a key player in the Blues' 1999 grand final team. Then in 2000, he was All-Australian and best and fairest of the side that reached the preliminary final. Overall, he edged Rawlings for impact and Jarman for longevity.
No. 14 Pick
Adam Simpson - North Melbourne, 1993, 306 games
The shortlist: Ben Allan (Hawthorn, 1989, 145 games), Nick Holland (Hawthorn, 1992, 179 games), Grant Birchall (Hawthorn, 2005, 216 games)
Birchall's four premierships took him close, but Simpson was a captain of North and has played nearly 100 more games. Both players were All-Australian, but Simpson was also a best and fairest winner to go with his two premiership medals.
No. 13 Pick
Shane Crawford - Hawthorn, 1991, 305 games.
The shortlist: Andrew McKay (Carlton, 1992, 244 games), Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs, 1999, 292 games) Jack Riewoldt (Richmond, 2006, 180 games)
Longevity and a Brownlow Medal for "Crawf" made this one fairly straightforward. One of the hardest runners the game has seen and he did it for a long time – his 305 games is third all-time for Hawthorn. Some might forget just how good McKay was as a true half-back flanker. He was All-Australian in that position four times between 1993 and 2001.
No. 12 Pick
Gavin Wanganeen - Essendon, 1989, 300 games
The shortlist: Chris Scott (Brisbane, 1993, 215 games), Shaun Burgoyne (Port Adelaide, 2000, 295 games), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn, 2007, 157 games)
On pure talent and game-breaking, Norm Smith medallist Rioli is the man. For consistency and a cool head under pressure, Burgoyne probably gets the tick. But for putting it all together, Wanganeen was rated higher than both of the four-time premiership Hawks (Burgoyne won three with Hawthorn and one with Port). He is not only a Brownlow medallist, but an AFL Hall of Famer and former Port Adelaide captain. He has won two fewer flags than Rioli and Burgoyne, but is the only one of the three to win a best and fairest and was All-Australian five times,, which is four more than Burgoyne and three more than Rioli. Scott, a two-time premiership player and Brisbane Lions vice-captain, was a very good player, too.
No. 11 Pick
Brad Johnson - Western Bulldogs, 1993, 364 games
The shortlist: Lenny Hayes (St Kilda, 1998, 297 games), Darren Glass (West Coast, 1999, 270 games), Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood, 2008, 143 games)
How do you split Brad Johnson and Lenny Hayes? Both former captains bled for their respective clubs' colours and the fans loved them for it. Hayes was a three-time best and fairest and All-Australian, a Norm Smith medallist and the best tackler in history. Johnson was also a three-time club champion, six-time All-Australian and the Bulldogs' games record holder. In the final analysis, Johnson's ability to punch above his weight as a forward just gave him edge. His 558 career goals rank him in the top 50 all time and No.2 at the Dogs.
The criteria
Selections are based on a player's overall career and not just his value to the club that originally drafted him.
Players who originally came into the AFL system via one club, but then left and had a greater impact elsewhere, are not discounted. But players are considered only at the selection when they first entered the system.
This means players who might have been "redrafted" by another club at a different pick, or players who originally entered the system via the rookie draft and were later "elevated" by the same club through the national draft, are not considered at that new selection number.
Father-son players are counted only when clubs had to use a specific draft pick to secure them.
Our list does not encompass pre-draft, zone, compensation, uncontracted player, merger, 17-year-old access or any other additional selections. Only players whose careers could be traced back to a specific number in the national draft are included.
The list covers only the national draft – not the pre-season or rookie drafts.
Longevity – games played and years in the system – is sometimes used to break deadlocks.
Draft orders were taken from the official AFL records.
