When you talk about the success of the AFL Mid-Season Draft, the first names that come to mind are Hawthorn co-captain Jai Newcombe, Magpie and Sun John Noble, Essendon star Sam Durham and, of course, Marlion Pickett, who famously played in Richmond’s 2019 premiership triumph on debut.

More senior footy fans will, however, remember the fact that those modern-day stars still have a way to go to take the title of the best mid-season draftee in AFL history.

That tag belongs to Sydney champion Daryn Cresswell, who was taken at pick 39 in the 1992 mid-season intake and went on to play 244 matches and make the Swans’ Team of the Century.

The player who sits second on the list of most games from the mid-season draft remains Cresswell’s teammate, flying wingman Dale Lewis, who played 182 games for the Swans after being taken at pick 2 in 1990.

Noble, who played his 150th match at the weekend, is well on track to run them down, as are Newcombe (115) and Durham (104), while Saint Cooper Sharman (84) has just entered the top 10.

But this year’s mid-season draft intake could usurp them all if the immediate success rate is any indication.

Last Sunday was just the 19th day since the AFL’s newest players joined the competition, and eight of the 18 selections have already made their debuts in what is undeniable proof of the development abilities and strength of the State League competitions.

And they have all made an impact in their first and second games.

None more so than Williamstown pair Hugo Hall-Kahan and Joel Fitzgerald.

Hall-Kahan, 22, moved from the midfield to half-back at the Seagulls and quickly earned a second chance after an 18-month stint as a mid-season draftee at Sydney that ended without a debut in 2023, while Fitzgerald, 22, swapped spots with him and has had leather poisoning all year.

Fitzgerald joined Melbourne at pick 16 after averaging 33.9 disposals in seven games for Williamstown this year, stepped that up to 36.5 in his first two games at Casey and made a sparkling debut for the Demons against Essendon last Saturday with 26 disposals (12 contested) and five clearances.

Hall-Kahan was taken by Adelaide at No. 10 and impressed in a one-point win over Geelong in round 13 with 16 touches and some crucial efforts late despite a nasty head clash with teammate Toby Murray, before backing that up with 23 possessions in the big win over the Western Bulldogs.

West Coast nabbed Geelong’s reigning VFL best and fairest Marcus Herbert and he had a strong debut in the thrilling loss to North Melbourne with 15 disposals at 87 per cent efficiency and six marks.

Defensive forward Campbell Lake, a 2023 VFL premiership player with Gold Coast before starring with Southport, had seven tackles in St Kilda’s close win over GWS Giants in his second game, Port Adelaide pinched Xavier Bamert despite North Melbourne’s attempts to hide him and he showed plenty of promise with 11 touches and a goal against Sydney, Richmond grabbed big VFL Cat Kye Annand and he had 14 possessions and six rebounds against the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne’s Woodville-West Torrens defender Lukas Cooke looked good until having his cheekbone broken in a second-quarter head clash against the Bombers.

And then there’s the biggest feel-good story of the draft in Coburg full-forward Mitch Podhajski, who was drafted by Collingwood at 27 after 103 VFL matches for the Lions after 54 goals last year and a League-leading (at the time) 31 this year.

Two weeks after thinking 2000 people at Coburg City Oval was a big crowd for him, he debuted in front of 88,000 in the King’s Birthday blockbuster at the MCG with 13 disposals, five marks and goal, looking like he was made for the big stage.

With Essendon’s No. 1 pick Jaxon Artemis – the first Tasmania Devil to be drafted – still to line up for the Bombers due to a calf injury, North Melbourne’s Ollie Griffin kicking four goals in his first two VFL games and Carlton ruckman Flynn Riley averaging 34 hitouts since being promoted from the VFL list, there’s every chance those eight debutants could grow very soon.

The 2025 cohort already has Essendon’s Lachie Blakiston (25 games), Eagle Tom McCarthy (23), Sun Oscar Adams (18), Magpie Roan Steele (18), Bomber Archie May (18), Kangaroo Cooper Trembath (16), Bulldog Michael Sellwood (14) and Port Adelaide’s Ewan Mackinlay (14) as best-23 players, but this year’s group could be even better.

@JontyTheCaller