Inside the AFL mid-season draft: The booms, busts and bolters

The mid-season draft has helped more than 100 players become AFL footballers since it was reintroduced in 2019. Many have come and gone, others have gone on to become household names.

For every Marlion Pickett fairytale, there are more stories like Cody Hirst.

As the mid-season draft rolls around again for AFL clubs next week, a quick look back shows how the dreams that come true can often be false dawns.

In the five drafts held since the mid-year intake was reborn in 2019, 83 players have been drafted, with tall Brynn Teakle called twice.

Of those 84 picks, 51 have played less than 10 games for the club that chose them and 29 players either didn’t or haven’t yet suited up in a single AFL game with that team.

Brynn Teakle was picked up by Port Adelaide in 2022. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

And North Melbourne in 2024. Picture: Mark Stewart

Pickett was famously taken with the 13th pick in 2019 and played in a Richmond premiership 124 days later.

John Noble was taken by Collingwood with the next pick and has played more games than any other mid-year pick-up with 121.

The next player drafted was Hirst, who months later would become the first of many delisted in the same year without playing a game.

From Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, Hirst was taken by Sydney and moved to the Harbour City as a 19-year-old who’s dream had just come true, only to be back home six months later with that dream dashed.

“At the time it was difficult, I was 19 years old, I moved out of home and thought it was going to be longer than it was and for it to happen like that, it was a bit of a struggle for a while but I have good people around me,” he said.

“I have moved on from it. I am a carpenter now, I have done my apprenticeship and moved back home and I’m loving it. It is what it is.”

Hirst was picked up by the Swans in 2019 but never played a game. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Having done his knee in his 18th year, Hirst was touted as a sure thing for the national draft in November of 2019 – which would have secured him a two-year contract – but had interest from a bunch of teams before the May mid-season draft.

He was sure Melbourne would take him – the Demons went with Kyle Dunkley – and instead went up to Sydney.

He toiled hard in the reserves, came home at the end of the season, and flew back to Sydney early to get a start on pre-season when his phone rang.

“Horse (John Longmire) gave me a call and broke the news to me and that was pretty much it,” he said.

“Once that kind of got told to me, I was pretty keen to get home and just be with my mates and my family, which was good.”

Hirst’s hope of pushing for a second chance ran into Covid in 2020.

“It went from worse to worse,” he said.

“Any chance to get back on a list, with Covid, it made it a lot harder. It was obviously crap but everyone was kind of going through the same thing that wasn’t on a list, it wasn’t just me.”

Hirst played VFL at the Northern Blues but his whirlwind trip through the system had zapped his love for the game.

“I lost a bit of my passion for footy so I just wanted to play local footy a Wandin and I have fallen in love with it. I have found a bit more passion,” he said.

The Dogs won the Outer East Premier flag in 2023, with Hirst deep in the celebrations and he now captains the club.

“When you are in the system or playing VFL it consumes a lot of your life,” he said.

“I have just really enjoyed it, local footy is such great fun and everyone is there for each other.”

Hirst has been joined my several others who were cut months after the mid-season draft, including the No. 1 pick in 2019, Josh Deluca, who played six games with Carlton but was still delisted.

Charlie Ham (North Melbourne), Will Collins (West Coast), Kye Declase (Melbourne), Brett Turner (Adelaide), Zane Williams (Geelong) we all jettisoned the same year without playing a game.

“I’m proud I got drafted, it’s every kid’s dream,” Hirst said.

Originally published as Inside the AFL mid-season draft: The booms, busts and bolters