The number 1 draft pick

[Presti35]

Since 1990:

1990 Stephen Hooper. 21 games with Geelong in 3 seasons. Returned to WAFL.

1991 John Hutton. 1 season with the Bears. Left for the Swans. Returned to WAFL. 1 season with Freo.

1992 Drew Banfield. Had a defined career with West Coast.

1993 Darren Gaspar. Walked out on Sydney after 2 seasons and played over 200 games for Richmond.

1994 Jeff White. Walked out on Freo after 2 seasons and played over 200 games for Melbourne.

1995 Clive Waterhouse. Played 106 games for Freo.

1996 Michael Gardiner. After 129 games for WCE, went to St Kilda for another 52 games.

1997 Travis Johnstone. Left for Brisbane after 160 games for the Dees.

1998 Des Headland. After 52 games and a flag in 4 seasons at Brisbane. Finally got his wish to play for Freo, where he played 114 games.

1999 Josh Fraser. After 200 Collingwood games, played a further 18 for the Suns.

2000 Nick Riewoldt. One of the Saints best ever players. But he almost left them....

2001 Luke Hodge. After 305 games with the Hawks, played a further 41 for the Lions.

2002 Brendon Goddard. Left St Kilda after 200 games to play for a flag at Essendon. Bet he wishes he could have that decision again. Still, he played a further 129 games there.

2003 Adam Cooney. Thrown a lifeline from Essendon after 200+ games and a Brownlow at the Dogs.

2004 Brett Deledio. Left for GWS after 243 games with Richmond.

2005 Marc Murphy. One of the rare #1 picks to stay at one club. Had a chance to leave via free agency, but stayed.

2006 Bryce Gibbs. Left for Adelaide after 10 years at the Blues. Was thought to be the missing piece for the Crows. There's a lesson here.

2007 Matthew Kreuzer. Wanted to get to the Pies. But we said no after a medical. We had another sniff a few years later, but like Murphy will remain a one club player. Would have walked out on Carlton if we were happy with his medical results.

2008 Jack Watts. Wow. Left the Dees for Port where he's gone missing. One of the saddest stories after all the hype.

2009 Tom Scully. Walked out on the Dees after 2 seasons. The money at GWS too good to pass up. Now he's playing for the Hawks and still a decent player too.

2010 David Swallow. Has remained at the Suns. Still only 26, but you dont hear much about him.

2011 Jonathon Patton. Is about to leave GWS for the Hawks.

2012 Lachie Whitfield. A few teams came calling, but he stayed with the GWS.

2013 Tom Boyd. Wow. Leaves GWS after one season for huge money. Wins a flag at the Dogs. Then gives it away all together a few seasons later.

2014 Paddy McCartin. The Key FF is having terrible luck with concussion. He needs a new start.

2015 Jacob Weitering
2016 Andrew McGrath
2017 Cameron Rayner
2018 Sam Walsh

All those guys are still new and at the same club that drafted them.

To think that only 8 number one picks have remained one club players between 1990-2013 is unreal. Of the 8, Banfield, Riewoldt, Murphy and Kruezer are the best players (2 almost left... and for Collingwood too), whilst Whitfield and Swallow are still young. Waterhouse only played a tad over 100 games, and there's not much to be said for Hooper.

[piedys]

Since 1990:

2008 Jack Watts. Wow. Left the Dees for Port where he's gone missing. One of the saddest stories after all the hype.

Remember, Nic Nat was pick #2 that year. I'd suggest WCE paid Melbourne off under the table not to draft him first....

2009 Tom Scully. Walked out on the Dees after 2 seasons. The money at GWS too good to pass up. Now he's playing for the Hawks and still a decent player too.

Wasn't he quoted as saying Melbourne's pre-season training regime was unprofessional, or lacking discipline, or something to that effect?

[Presti35]

With Boyd long gone and McCartin not being thrown a lifeline, and with Brett Deledio and Luke Hodge calling it quits at the end of 2019;

The following #1 picks retired at the end of 2020:
Bryce Gibbs, Matthew Kreuzer, Jack Watts.

In the past week and a bit; Scully and possibly Patton too....

Leaving Marc Murphy (2005), David Swallow (2010) and Lachie Whitfield (2012) still going from the pre-2015 era.

Jacob Weitering, Andrew McGrath, Cameron Rayner and Sam Walsh, all under 23 and have all shown something. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will join them this year.