Top 5 draft bargains in AFL history ft. Max Gawn 

Being drafted first pick or last pick doesn't matter in the long run. The game has seen many players come and go. Many times, the players who become stars are not picked till the last round. This article lists the top AFL players that didn't look like stars at the time they were drafted but turned out to be great bargains for the clubs that got them.

Top 5 draft bargains in AFL history

#5 Matthew Boyd

Matthew Boyd

Boyd was recruited from the rookie draft in 2002 as pick no. 23. He has played 292 games for the Western Bulldogs and currently holds the record for the most AFL games played by a player recruited from the rookie draft. He received the Western Bulldogs Best and Fairest award three times: 2009, 2011, and 2012.

He was also selected for the All-Australian team three times: 2009, 2011, and 2016. He was a member of the 68-year drought-ending premiership team for the Bulldogs, formerly Footscray. He captained the side from 2011 to 2013 and retired in 2017.

#4 Max Gawn

Max Gawn addresses the crowd during the Melbourne Demons Premiership Celebration

Gawn was Melbourne's fifth selection and 34th overall in the 2009 national draft. He struggled with injuries and form at the start of his career for Melbourne but he became indispensable for the Demons in 2016 and was selected to the All-Australian team.

He was the highest-polling Melbourne player in the Brownlow count with 16 votes. He has made the All-Australian selection five more times since then — 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 as captain, and 2022. He was captain when Melbourne won the premiership in 2021. He has won the Best and Fairest award twice and was also placed third twice.

#3 Dane Swan

Dane Swan of the Magpies

Dane Swan was pick no. 58 of 83 undrafted players in the 2001 national draft. He struggled with his form at the beginning of his career and was even considered unremarkable but he broke through Collingwood's ranks in the 2007 season. He was placed fourth in the Best and Fairest and tallied 20 votes to finish sixth in the Brownlow rankings.

He won the Best and Fairest award three times, was runner-up twice, and finished third once. He was selected for the All-Australian team five times, was the finals best player three times, and was the Leigh Matthews trophy winner and Brownlow medalist once. He was part of Collingwood's 2010 premiership squad and was made a life member in 2017. He retired in 2016.

#2 Corey Enright

Hall of Fame inductee Corey Enright

Enright, who was widely known as one of the best running defenders the AFL has seen, was drafted by Geelong in the 1999 national draft as pick no. 47. He was nominated for the Rising Star award in 2001. Enright was part of Geelong's dominant squad and won three premierships with the Cats. He also received the club's Best and Fairest twice: in 2009 and 2011.

He was an All-Australian in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016. He held the record for most games played for Geelong cats with 332 games till Joel Selwood broke the record in 2022. Selwood’s record was also broken in round 11 of the 2024 season by Tom Hawkins. Retired in 2016, Enright was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

#1 James Hird

James Hird

Hird was selected as pick no. 79 out of the 94 players drafted in the 1990 national draft and he debuted in the 1992 season. He played as a midfielder and half-forward, depending on where coach Kevin Sheddy needed him. He was part of the elite Essendon squad, nicknamed the ‘Baby Bombers’.

Hird won two premierships and won the 2000 Norm Smith medal. He received the Best and Fairest awards in 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, and 2007, and was captain between 1998 and 2005. He made the All-Australian team selection in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, and 2003. He also won the 1996 Brownlow medal.

Hird retired in 2007 after 253 games and 343 goals. He made the Essendon Team of the Century and was listed at number three on their ‘Champions of Essendon’ list.