For some people, the off-season proves to be more exciting than any of the 27 weeks of the fixtured year.
Player movements and rumours get everyone excited – us included – as they offer clean slates, new leaves, and a myriad of other clichés for fans and footballers alike.
Every club will contemporarily claim that their trade and draft hauls are of an elite standard, however, time and statistics are the true revealers of quality.
Although some teams are notoriously poor drafters and have a penchant for purchasing players well beyond their use by date, you won't find any of them on this list.
With many thanks to the statistical records of Draftguru, here are, by year, the top ten best recruitment class from clubs in the AFL era based off averaged games played across respective crops.
For example, Hawthorn's 2004 crop of Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis is weighed down by five players from the same draft class playing a combined five matches.
4. Brisbane (1997)
| Number of Players Recruited | Combined Games Played | Average Games |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 885 | 111 |
In the off-season following the merger, the Brisbane Lions again added numerous names to their list. However, unlike 1996, there proved to be far more wheat than chaff.
Triple Premiership players Simon Black (322 games) and Luke Power (182) were added via the draft, with Brad Scott (146) joining his brother Chris after crossing from Hawthorn.
Two-time Premiership ruckman Beau McDonald (91) also joined the Lions with the Draft's 73rd pick.
In spite of the metric tonne of silverware won by this quartet, the Lions' class of '97 has slid down the rankings after Marcus Picken (25), Shane O'Bree (19), Scott Ralph (zero) and Tate Day (zero) all failed to find form in the sunshine state.
