With all the wheeling and dealing of the AFL exchange period, draft picks were shuffled between clubs across the board.
While North traded its first-round selection to Hawthorn in a deal for Jed Anderson, it was able to gain pick 17 in an exchange involving Ryan Bastinac.
Also part of the Bastinac deal was the 47th selection at the 2015 National Draft, which arrived from Collingwood as it looked to bargain for the Lions’ James Aish.
The Roos fourth pick will be all-important at Tuesday night’s draft.
As highlighted in last week’s Draft Flashback on none other than Brent Harvey, pick 47 holds great significance to North.
‘Boomer’ was selected with the 47th selection in 1995 and now sits second on the all-times VFL/AFL games list with 409 matches.
But he’s not done yet. The 37-year-old is set to break Michael Tuck’s record with an injury-free run in 2016.
North has had a total of four picks at number 47 over the past 29 years, with mixed success.
Following Harvey, Nick Lowther landed at Arden Street in 1998 from Preston under 18’s. He was delisted after one season, then re-rookied, but never played an AFL game.
Next was Mitch Wilkins in 2012, who plied his trade at VFL level but was ultimately delisted two seasons later.
Ben Brown‘s recruitment in 2013 has proven a huge success though.
Despite a pre-season injury in 2014, he bounced back to boot four goals in just his ninth game at the highest level, in a cut-throat final against Essendon.
He was a regular in 2015 and has a bright future ahead.
Elsewhere, Corey Enright became one of the Cats’ great defenders of all time after being drafted in 1999, while Brett Montgomery (drafted in 1996) played over 200 games at the Bulldogs and Power.
Later picks are often considered somewhat of a lottery, and pick 47 is no exception.
The first five players selected and 12 of the 29 drafted in that position never managed to play at the top level.
* Still playing. Totals current as at end of 2015 season.
F/S = Father/Son selection
Prior. = Priority selection
