One of the great exercises when talking footy is to debate your club's best draft steals. Sure, high draft picks are great, but everyone knows it's much easier to hit a winner with a top 10 selection than it is with a pick in the 50's. Or in the Rookie Draft for that matter.
So we've decided to put together something for you to refer to next time the debate springs up over a couple of beers.
For the purposes of this exercise, anyone drafted before pick 40 is ineligible and we've decided to keep it in the AFL era. This is by no means a complete list, every year tosses up several gems and sadly, we can't include them all.
So without further distraction, here are our biggest draft steals for every club in the competition.
Hawthorn
Luke Breust (pick 47)
The Hawks have generally nailed their early draft picks to the point of not needing to find as many steals, however that hasn't stopped them from finding their share of bargains.
At 47, Luke Breust has proven to be incredible value. An exciting mid-sized forward who can kick a bag, with an elite set shot and goal sense, he was invaluable during the Hawks dynasty.
A triple premiership player, dual All-Australian and Hawthorn leading goalkicker, he has become one of the great forwards of the modern era. In his 235 games, he's kicked well over 400 goals and with time still on his side, he should easily go past 500.
Honourable mentions: Brad Sewell (Rookie selection), Ben Stratton (pick 46), Paul Puopulo (Pick 66), Ben Dixon (pick 77)
