As previously mentioned, the wheelings and dealings of an off-season frequently pique the interest of some more than a fixtured game.
The above applies to many of us here at Zero Hanger... and as we've already delved into the 10 best single-season recruitment drives, we felt it only fair to highlight a list of lowlights.
With thanks again to the impeccable statistical records of Draftguru, here are, by year, the top ten worst recruitment classes from clubs in the AFL era based off averaged games played across respective crops.
For example, Hawthorn's 2004 crop of Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis is weighed down by five players from the same draft class playing a combined five matches.
5. Melbourne (2000)
| Number of Players Recruited | Combined Games Played | Average Games |
| 10 | 100 | 10 |
Any footy fan worth their salt will have been waiting for Melbourne to be mentioned on this list. Sadly, for you Demon diehards, it won't be the last.
Following their annihilation in the 2000 Grand Final at the hands of the Bombers, Melbourne sought to inject some youth to their ageing squad.
In total, ten new names were selected, with seven of them failing to debut โ Ben Doherty, Daniel Breese, Mitchell Craig, Kevin Devine, Nick Gill, Mark Berts and Tom Marshall.
The three that did manage to don the red and the blue were Darren Jolly (48 games), Scott Thompson (39) and Ross Funcke (13).
Had Jolly and Thompson remained in Victoria, the story could have been quite different.
