Following an active Trade Period, North Melbourne has been armed with one of the club's strongest ever hands for the 2023 AFL Draft, which begins on Monday night.

A series of savvy moves from head of football talent Brady Rawlings following Ben McKay's decision to depart Arden Street resulted in the club acquiring five first-round selections.

It's a hand that holds great potential, and the Kangaroos have been beneficiaries of such picks before…

*Based off National Drafts only

Pick No.2

The Roos have taken the second pick into the National Draft just once in their history, and they struck gold in 2002 by bringing in Daniel Wells.

The dynamic and smooth-moving Wells never needed a stack of the ball to have an impact on gameday, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t rack up disposals.

He made 243 appearances for the Kangaroos from 2003 to 2016, winning two Syd Barker Medals in the process before finishing his career at Collingwood.

Pick No.3

You only need to go back a year for the last time North Melbourne selected a gem with the third overall pick. The cool, calm, and composed Harry Sheezel has only been a Kangaroo for a year but has already etched his name into the club's history by becoming a Syd Barker medallist in his debut campaign.

The young gun from the Sandringham Dragons also capped off his first season by taking out the competition's Rising Star Award, after setting the League alight through 23 games.

Lachlan Hansen, picked up by the club back in 2006, developed into a quality intercept defender for the Kangas, but hip issues and other injuries limited the former No.3 pick to 151 games over 10 seasons. He still managed to feature in six finals at North Melbourne, playing a pivotal role in each.

North Melbourne's current No.29 Will Phillips was selected at No.3 back in 2020. Though restricted by a bout of glandular fever that wiped out his 2022 season, he has shown plenty of glimpses over 32 appearances of his capability through midfield.

Pick No.15

Between the club's third and fourth premiership victories, a young Tasmanian named Brady Rawlings arrived at Arden St as the 1998 National Draft's 15th selection.

As uncompromising and spirited as Kangas come, Rawlings earned a reputation as an elite tagger before heading into the backline, where the three-time club best and fairest winner finished his playing career.

Nine years later, the Roos used the same pick on an 18-year-old Robbie Tarrant from South Mildura.

Despite enduring an injury-riddled start to his career, a switch to defence saw Tarrant become one of the competition's premier key backs.

The 2016 Syd Barker Medal winner played 174 games in the royal blue and white stripes, before retiring earlier this year after 20 matches as a Tiger.

Pick No.17

2010's draft saw Shaun Atley arrive at Arden Street. A pacey half-back/winger, he became an incredibly consistent part of North Melbourne's line-up from 2011 to 2021.

Behind the scenes, the 234-gamer continuously set the standard at training through sheer hard work and left an indelible mark on the club when he departed.

Although he was only around for four seasons, fellow No.17 pick Scott Welsh will forever be a Kangaroos premiership player.

Drafted out of West Adelaide in 1995, Welsh booted 24 goals from 22 games through the club's flag-winning year of 1999 before heading back to South Australia in the off-season to continue his career as a Crow.

Pick No.18

The Kangas acquired Anthony Stevens with the 18th selection of the 1988 draft, and it proved to be an inspired pick, with the country Victorian going on to become one of the club's most inspirational and courageous players.

Through 16 seasons, Stevens played 292 games and played a crucial role in North Melbourne's premierships in 1996 and 1999.

Along with his two premiership medallions, the midfielder finished his career with two Syd Barker Medals, an All-Australian selection, and a spot in the club's Team of the Century.

Follow the AFL Draft with @NMFCOfficial on social media for exclusive inside access to the Kangaroos' new recruits from 7pm AEDT - and check back for full coverage on every player on the NMFC website and North Melbourne Official App.