This Thursday night will be a landmark occasion when the AFL Draft is held in Sydney for the first time.
While the Swans may not have the wealth of early draft picks that their new neighbours do, they have proven in the past that they can unearth a gem deep in the draft order.
The Swans first live pick in this year’s Draft is at pick 43 after the club committed to using their first round draft pick (pick 21 overall) to acquire the services of Tom Mitchell, who has already made the trip to Sydney after being secured in October’s father-son bidding.
As well as pick 43, the Swans will also have a live selection at number 61, and another pick at 85 which has been committed to promoting Nathan Gordon to the senior list.
Despite the two active picks being towards the back end of the draft, the Swans only need to look at their recent history to see the number of high achievers they have brought into the club with picks above 40.
1997 was the last time the Swans had pick 43 in the AFL Draft, and they used it to pick a young man from the North Ballarat Rebels by the name of Adam Goodes.
Since then, Goodes has gone one to play in the 2005 premiership, win two Brownlow Medals, three Bob Skilton Medals, and been named All Australian four times during a stellar 300-game career.
But Goodes is not an isolated case at the Swans, with a number of other players drafted beyond number 40 making up the nucleus of recent successful senior teams, including 2009 club champion Ryan O’Keefe (#56 in 1999), 100-gamer Nick Malceski (#64 in 2002) and Swans games record holder, Michael O’Loughlin (#40 in 1994).
During the 2011 season, the Swans were able to get 39 games - including six finals - from three players who were taken on or above pick 40 in last year’s AFL Draft alone. Luke Parker (pick 40), Alex Johnson (pick 57) and Matt Spangher (pick 73) all played key roles last season after arriving at the club through the 2010 Draft.
If past trends are anything to go by, then Thursday night could be the start of a long and successful career at the Swans for a couple of fresh faces.
Successful Swans Draft Picks after #40 in National Draft
Andrew Dunkley #56 in 1991 (217 club games)
Michael O’Loughlin #40 in 1994 (303 club games)
Troy Luff #74 in 1994 (155 club games)
Adam Goodes #43 in 1997 (300 club games*)
Ryan O’Keefe #56 in 1999 (233 club games*)
Adam Schneider #60 in 2001 (98 club games)
Nick Malceski #64 in 2002 (104 club games*)
Amon Buchanan #45 in 2003 (116 club games)
Jesse White #79 in 2006 (53 club games*)
Craig Bird #59 in 2007 (62 club games*)
Trent Dennis-Lane #55 in 2009 (11 club games*)
Luke Parker #40 in 2010 (13 club games*)
Alex Johnson #57 in 2010 (20 club games*)
Matt Spangher #73 in 2010 (6 club games*)
* Current Swans players
