Draft time often leaves AFL fans searching for omens or wanting to snap unwanted trends of the past.
Each club has its good and bad draft tales that have either set them up for the long haul or hampered their list builds at critical junctures.
The 2025 AFL Draft could do the same for several teams, who will be hoping their current suite of selections uncovers some diamonds in the rough.
Looking at every AFL team's draft hand for the 2025 count, here's how each side has fared with their current selections historically.
Essendon
Picks: 5, 6, 21, 27, 30
Essendon have used Pick 5 four times, finding mixed, but mostly good, results. 1996 selection Daniel McAlister played just six games in the red and black, while more contemporary options in Michael Hurley, Darcy Parish and Elijah Tsatas have been more beneficial. Pick 6 has been less successful, with the Dons having used it four times for a return of Andrew Rogers, Kepler Bradley, David Myers and Aaron Francis. Current players Mason Redman and Harrison Jones were both former Pick 30 selections and have proven to be solid finds at that point of the draft.
Pick 5: Daniel McAlister, Michael Hurley, Darcy Parish, Elijah Tsatas
Pick 6: Andrew Rogers, Kepler Bradley, David Myers, Aaron Francis
Pick 21: Richard Ambrose, Willie Dick, Tim Williams
Pick 27: Kieran Murrihy, Ted Richards, Darren Walsh
Pick 30: Andrew Lee, Mason Redman, Harrison Jones
