With Luke Hodge retiring and Gary Ablett Jnr in the twilight of his career, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to take a look back at the 2001 AFL 'Super' Draft.
The 'Super' Draft is widely regarded as one of the best of all time, boasting a number of stars all the way through it. It was also the draft that formed the nucleus of Geelong's triple-premiership side, one of the greatest teams of the modern era.
Heck, we couldn't even squeeze in names like Jason Gram, Adam Schneider, Andrew Carrazzo and Brett Thornton this draft was so deep!
Here is Zero Hanger's re-drafted first round of the 2001 AFL 'Super' Draft, including players taken in the Rookie Draft:
11. Luke Ball (Collingwood)
The former number two pick has fallen to number 11 in our re-draft, but don't be mistaken, he enjoyed a stellar career.
Ball played 142 games for St Kilda from 2003 to 2009, earning All-Australian and best-and-fairest honours in 2005, before being named captain in 2006 and 2007. At the end of 2009, Ball requested a trade to Collingwood and eventually found his way there via the draft, spending the next five seasons with the Pies.
In his first year he was a part of Collingwood's premiership team and featured prominently in the 2011 grand final side. After significant injuries hampered his final three years with the Pies, Ball retired in 2014 with 223 games and 91 goals to his name.
