History of Pick 16
For the first time ever, North Melbourne will be using a Pick 16 at a National Draft.
For the first time ever, North Melbourne will be using a Pick 16 at a National Draft.
Making the preliminary final means the Kangaroos were originally the fourth-last side to draft, before this year's Trade Period altered the order.
Drafting towards the end of the first round puts a side in an intriguing position. It's often the territory of a slider; a player who few expected to still be available. It leaves a recruiting team with a split-second decision to make - select the man who you had your eye on all along, or the top-end talent who you never expected to be there?
A look through the players selected with pick 16 since the turn of the century reveals a mix of types. From key-position players to ruckmen to midfielders, everyone is generally in play at the end of the first round.
Phantom drafts around the AFL media have a wide range of options for North at its first pick, leaving it up for speculation as to who will arrive at Arden Street.
Pick 16, since 2000
2000: Scott Thompson (Melbourne, then Adelaide)
2001: Rick Ladson (Hawthorn)
2002: Stephen Gilham (Port Adelaide, then Hawthorn, then GWS Giants)
2003: Josh Willoughby (Sydney)
2004: Adam Pattinson (Richmond, then St Kilda)
2005: Richard Douglas (Adelaide)
2006: Mitch Brown (West Coast)
2007: Matthew Lobbe (Port Adelaide)
2008: Ryan Schoenmakers (Hawthorn)
2009: Jasper Pittard (Port Adelaide)
2010: Ben Jacobs (Port Adelaide, then North Melbourne)
2011: Clay Smith (Western Bulldogs)
2012: Jackson Thurlow (Geelong)
2013: Darcy Lang (Geelong)