North Melbourne will use its first selection (Pick 8) in the National Draft on Luke McDonald.  

North has only used Pick 8 once before, in the year 2000. Daniel Motlop came to the club, recruited from North Adelaide in South Australia.

While he only played 47 games before being traded to Port Adelaide, his talent was obvious and he ended up kicking 208 career goals from 130 games.

From a league-wide perspective, the pick has tended to be used on key position players in the last few years. Since 2006, five of the seven selections have been on a taller player.

2012: Sam Mayes
2011: Billy Longer
2010: Dyson Heppell
2009: John Butcher
2008: Ty Vickery
2007: Lachie Henderson
2006: Ben Reid

All up, there have been five players from Pick 8 turn out in more than 200 games since the inception of the National Draft in 1986.

However, reflecting the early imperfect nature of the Draft, it took six-years for a Pick 8 just to play more than 100 career games and 10 for the first 200 game player. However it was a golden patch of picks from then on, with five of the seven players between 1995 and 2001 notching more than 200 games.

Less than 100 games: 1986-1990, 1992-1993, 1996, 2002-2005, 2006-2012*
100-200 games: 1991, 1994, 2000
More than 200 games: 1995, 1997-1999, 2001*

* denotes selection currently on an AFL list

Perhaps the best three Pick 8’s came within four years of each other. Jude Bolton was part of the 1998 draft class, followed by Joel Corey in 1999 and Jimmy Bartel in 2001.

North will be hoping for Luke McDonald to have a similar career path to any one of those three premiership players. If it does turn out that way, the club will be in good hands.