The 2009 draft was a blessing or a curse for a number of clubs, as stunning selections and unlucky injuries would soon write as a major theme for many draftees.
A year Demon fans will try to forget for most parts, the club was gifted the first two selections of the crop. After two season their prized No.1 selection had departed and eventually their trusty number two would be plagued with injuries, leaving the club after just 86 games across eight seasons. However, an early third-round selection would soon turn those sour fans.
For many others however, they left draft night not knowing they had found a star they were soon to call their own. Many selections outside of the first round went on to become Brownlow medalists, premiership players and All-Australians - leaving many clubs to wonder "what if?".
Across the entire field, the 17-man first-round shapes very differently when given the chance of a do-over, and that's exactly what we've done.
*Certain player movements were negotiated in this draft (eg. Luke Ball to Collingwood, Matt Maguire to Brisbane), these players who arranged moves were not included in our list.
Let's begin...
North Melbourne
Pick 5. Daniel Talia
Talia was a late bloomer for the Crows but went on to collect the Rising Star award in 2012, edging out Jeremy Cameron, Mitch Wallis and Adam Treloar. Talia won a selection into the 22under22 that season before being named in the same team for a further two seasons.
By 2014, Talia had won Adelaide's best and fairest and was awarded with his first of two All-Australian selections, with the second coming in 2016.
Talia has proven to be one of the league's best defenders in the last decade across his 187-game career.
