PICK No.6 has long been referred to as the 'cursed' selection at the NAB AFL Draft.
While collectively the top 10 picks in draft history average 107.5 AFL games each, the sixth pick has tallied barely more than half of that – just 56 games apiece.
Back in the draft's foundation years, there was a time when clubs might have preferred to avoid using the sixth selection altogether.
It took until the 14th national draft for the first pick No.6 to reach 100 games – that came through Fremantle's James Walker, who eventually managed 151 appearances after being recruited to the club in 1997.
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Walker, with Steven Salopek and Kepler Bradley, were the only 100-game players taken with pick No.6 in the first 23 years of the draft. The other 20 players recruited with that selection averaged 32.9 games between them.
Among those taken in the early years were Ray Sterrett (Geelong), Paul Burton (Sydney), Trent Cummings and Robert McMahon (both Fitzroy), who played 61 games between them.
More recently, those taken with the sixth selection look to be bucking the trend.
Chad Wingard and Jack Macrae, taken with the sixth picks back in 2011 and 2012 respectively, have morphed into certified stars of the competition.
Jaidyn Stephenson, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Aaron Francis and Caleb Marchbank are the last four players to be taken with that pick and all look like solid prospects, developing into nice footballers at AFL level.
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The footy world waits to see what Gold Coast does with pick No.6 on Thursday night.
But while pick No.6 may be 'cursed', there are a number of 'blessed' picks later in the draft.
Pick No.56, currently owned by Brisbane prior to academy and father-son bids, averages 79 games each – a significant outlier within third-round draft picks.
Daniel Bradshaw, Cameron Mooney, Ryan O'Keefe, Daniel Cross and Joel Patfull are among those who have proved to be success stories from the 56th selection at the draft.
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Earlier, the 40th pick – held by Sydney – averages 88 games, thanks in large part to a trio of gun father-son selections – including Gary Ablett, Jobe Watson and Josh Kennedy.
The 37th pick – owned by Richmond – is also a lucky pick, averaging 83 games, with Leigh Montagna, Mark LeCras, Todd Goldstein and Scott Thompson being the prized selections.
Bucking the trend: The most recent players taken at pick No.6
2000: Dylan Smith (North Melbourne) – 21 games
2001: Ashley Sampi (West Coast) – 78 games
2002: Steven Salopek (Port Adelaide) – 121 games
2003: Kepler Bradley (Essendon) – 117 games
2004: Tom Williams (Western Bulldogs) – 85 games
2005: Beau Dowler (Hawthorn) – 16 games
2006: Mitch Thorp (Hawthorn) – 2 games
2007: David Myers (Essendon) – 116 games
2008: Chris Yarran (Carlton) – 119 games
2009: Gary Rohan (Sydney) – 106 games
2010: Reece Conca (Richmond) – 104 games
2011: Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide) – 147 games
2012: Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs) – 118 games
2013: Matthew Scharenberg (Collingwood) – 31 games
2014: Caleb Marchbank (GWS) – 35 games
2015: Aaron Francis (Essendon) – 10 games
2016: Sam Petrevski-Seton (Carlton) – 42 games
2017: Jaidyn Stephenson (Collingwood) – 26 games
