[RELATED: More Drafted features | NMFC Draft history]

In the lead-up to the 2014 National Draft on November 27, NMFC.com.au delves into the archives to feature some of the club's memorable selections.

At the end of a season which featured an unlikely finals appearance, North Melbourne also had its highest ever selection in the National Draft.

The season had started with Wayne Carey leaving the club, and it ended with him being traded to Adelaide. In return the Kangaroos originally received picks 4 and 20 from the Crows, giving them the enviable position of having three selections inside 20.

However shortly before the draft was to take place, there was an investigation and announcement by the AFL relating to salary cap breaches by Carlton.

After the league found what was determined to be ‘a deliberate, elaborate and sophisticated scheme to break the player payment rules’, the Blues were fined close to a million dollars, stripped of picks 1, 2, 31 and 34 from the 2002 National Draft, all draft picks in the 2003 Pre-Season Draft and their first and second round picks in the 2003 National Draft.

In 2002, Carlton's loss was North's gain, able to move up the draft order to picks 2 and 18. 

But in a busy off-season, they weren’t the only traded in draft picks that moved up the order. Byron Pickett wanted to return home to South Australia, requesting a trade to Port Adelaide.

North received pick 15 – to become 13, on-traded to Fremantle for Leigh Brown, and pick 33. The latter was bumped to 31 after the salary cap breaches were announced.

Originally the club had 11 and 27 as its first two National Draft selections. These were also changed to 9 and 25 respectively.

So after a hectic period, the Kangaroos went to the draft with six picks – 2, 9, 18, 25, 31 and 38.

If the period following a tumultuous year wasn’t frenzied enough, there was a new senior coach entrusted with the responsibility of leading the club through the post-Carey era.

Denis Pagan had departed for Carlton, bringing to an end his 10 years at the club. Replacing the two-time premiership coach was a former Roo in Dean Laidley. He arrived at Arden Street after a three year stint as an assistant coach at Collingwood under Mick Malthouse.

With the focus at draft time largely centred round Brendon Goddard, Daniel Wells and Jared Brennan, it was clear that North would select one of the star juniors.

Wells  landed at the Kangaroos, and has since become one of the club’s best players in the 10-plus years since his selection.

However, the work inside the top 10 wasn’t done yet for North’s recruiting staff. Hamish McIntosh arrived at Arden Street with pick 9, fresh off a dominant season at junior level.

With Leigh Brown already coming to the club from the Dockers, it was clear North was attempting to boost its key-position stocks. McIntosh, a star up forward and in the ruck, was the next step in the plan.

While it took time for McIntosh to right his body and sustain the rigours of AFL football, he would prove a valuable part of North’s lineup over 107 games. But at the end of 2012, seeking more opportunity, he was traded to Geelong for pick 37.

That selection netted Ben Jacobs, another player looking for a fresh start. 

Unfortunately North’s final four selections in 2002 played only 31 games between them.

Kris Shore – the extra piece of the Carey trade – failed to make his AFL debut in three years on the list. 

Callum Urch was pick 25 and there were high hopes for the left-footer. However injuries cruelled any chance of a long AFL career, and he only played eight games in five years.

Another key-position player was selected with pick 31. At 196cm, Joel Perry was viewed as a long-term key defender by North Melbourne, and it was where he spent most of his time at the club.

In four years at the club, Perry played solid VFL football but was unable to break into North’s backline. After eight games he was delisted following the 2006 season.

Pick 38 brought Blake Grima to the club. A slider in the draft, the Eastern Ranges midfielder was originally expected to be selected much higher before a shoulder injury hurt his draft stock.

It set a tone throughout his career, where despite his obvious talent, Grima was unable to stay on the park. From ankle to shoulder to hamstring, it all conspired to restrict the Victorian to only 15 games in six years at North Melbourne.

NMFC selections - 2002