After receiving Pick 68 as part of the exchange that saw Jarman Impey make his way to Waverley, we thought we’d look to previous drafts to see what a pick in the 60s could potentially uncover.

Read: What the draft order currently looks like

While many budding young talents are snapped up during the first handful of selections on draft night, there are often plenty of diamonds who slip through the cracks and are ripe for the plucking when teams enter the fourth round of selections.

You need only look as far as Hawthorn’s current starting 22 for evidence. Triple-premiership forward Paul Puopolo, dual-premiership defender Taylor Duryea and promising youngster Kaiden Brand all found their way to the Hawks via a pick in the 60s. 

Together, they have amassed 277 games in the brown and gold, and counting.

Luke Lowden is the only other player taken by Hawks with a 60s pick within the last decade. Though the ruckman only managed one game for the club, he became an integral part of a trade that saw Hawthorn receive Pick 31 in the 2014 National Draft – a pick with which the Hawks would select an 18-year-old Daniel Howe.

And, if you need further proof that picks in the 60s can be used to create fairy tales, look back to what the Hawks did with their Pick 66 ahead of the 2012 draft. Hawthorn saw potential in a homesick utility that had failed to register a game for the Swans during the 2012 season. The Hawks sent Pick 66 across the border during trade period, in exchange for Pick 70 and Matthew Spangher. 24 games, one premiership and a ‘cult hero’ status later, we’re betting Hawks fans wouldn’t change a thing.

 

Hawthorn’s ‘60s’ picks from the last 10 years:

2012: Kaiden Brand – Pick 66

2010: Paul Puopolo – Pick 66

2009: Taylor Duryea – Pick 69

2008: Luke Lowden – Pick 63

 

 

Other notable picks in the 60s:

Matthew Stokes (Geelong) – Pick 61, 2005.

Michael Rischitelli (Brisbane) – Pick 61, 2003.

Nick Malceski (Sydney) – Pick 64, 2002

Adam Schneider (Sydney) – Pick 60, 2001

Cameron Bruce (Melbourne) – Pick 64, 1999

Byron Pickett (North Melbourne) – Pick 67, 1996