NEWLY crowned 2012 Brownlow medallist Sam Mitchell headlines a host of big-name veterans who have changed clubs, but history shows very few over-30 recruits live up to expectations.

As it stands, five elder statesmen will don different guernseys next year – Hawthorn great Mitchell, 34, is now an Eagle, four-time premiership teammate Jordan Lewis, 30, is a Demon, and ex-Kangaroos playmaker Daniel Wells, 32 in February, is a Magpie, while Travis Cloke (Collingwood/Bulldogs), Brett Deledio (Richmond/GWS) and Lynden Dunn (Melbourne/Collingwood) will each turn 30 early next year.

Mitchell, Lewis, Wells and Deledio are stars – as was Cloke before his decline – and they are expected to maintain their lofty standing, at least initially.

However, an examination of previous veteran recruits suggests fans should eye them with some caution.

It's possible that no 30-plus recruit has been as highly rated at the time as reigning club champion Mitchell, but data provided by the AFL's statistical department shows that over the past 30 years, no pick-up of Mitchell's vintage has played more than 22 games in their new venture.

And no recruit of at least Wells' age (31 years and 251 days when traded) has played more than 39 games. The Pies certainly hope the classy midfielder will dwarf that figure over his three-year contract. 

League-supplied figures also reveal that in the AFL era (since the end of 1986):

• 66 recruits* in the over-30 bracket tallied 102 seasons (averaging 1.55 seasons per player) and 1379 games (20.9).
• Just 17 (or 25.8 percent) played finals.
• Only five (7.6 percent) played in grand finals, with just three (4.5 percent) winning premierships.
• Just one (1.5 percent) finished in the top three in a club best and fairest.

* These figures only recognise players whose careers have ended, and don't include the exceptional case of Essendon's 2016 top-up players, nor the odd player who never joined the club that drafted them.

For all the flops, the 30-plus market has still produced a few gems.

In terms of individual honours, the standout is Paul Salmon, the beanpole Essendon forward/ruckman who relished the opportunity to become Hawthorn's No.1 ruckman at 31.

Salmon won the club best and fairest in his first two years (1996-97) as a Hawk, was named an All Australian and, after five seasons in brown and gold, was remarkably selected in the Hawthorn's Team of the Century.

He retired in 2000 but returned to Essendon for the 2002 season at 37, playing a further 15 games for a career total of 324.

Next best would be Paul Roos, who left an ailing Fitzroy for Sydney, where he was twice All Australian and was one of the Swans' best players in the 1996 Grand Final loss to North Melbourne.

It was of course a fateful move north for Roos, given he later became the Swans' longest-serving coach and in 2005 broke the club's 72-year premiership drought.

Sydney's skipper that day, Barry Hall, was another experienced hand who enjoyed a late flourish elsewhere. After falling out with the Swans, the power forward produced two strong seasons with the Western Bulldogs, earning All Australian selection in 2010 and leading the Dogs' goalkicking both years to become the only player in history to kick at least 100 goals for three clubs.

For team success, it's going to be tough to match Brian Lake, the Dog-turned-Hawk full-back, who became the only player to win flags in his only three years at a club (2013-14-15). Lake also claimed the 2013 Norm Smith Medal.

Only two other over-30 recruits won flags – Essendon great Tim Watson came out of retirement to add much-needed experience to Kevin Sheedy's 'Baby Bombers' of 1993, and ruckman John Barnes made a triumphant return to Windy Hill in 2000 after three Grand Final losses with Geelong.

Others to go back to their club of origin included Brett Montgomery (Bulldogs/Port Adelaide/Bulldogs), Chris Tarrant (Collingwood/Fremantle/Collingwood, playing in the Pies' 2011 Grand Final loss to Geelong) and Cloke's father David Cloke (Richmond/Collingwood/Richmond), who received maximum votes in the Brownlow Medal in each of his last three games in 1991.

Due to a variety of circumstances, things didn't work out so well for several other high-profile veterans.

Even the AFL's goal king Tony Lockett has admitted his ill-fated three-game, three-goal comeback for the Swans at 36 in 2002 – after two years in retirement – was a disaster.

It also saddened many Bulldogs fans to see the legendary Doug Hawkins, then the club's games record-holder, playing his final season at Fitzroy in 1995.

It's a sentiment Kangaroos supporters can certainly relate to, given dual premiership heroes Wayne Carey and Mick Martyn finished up at Adelaide and Carlton respectively.

Carey, of course, was an exceptional case with his move forced by off-field revelations. On return, not even 'The King' could recapture his explosive powers.

There was also sadness for the original fans of Hawthorn superstar Dermott Brereton (Collingwood), Nicky Winmar (St Kilda/Bulldogs) and Paul Chapman (Geelong/Essendon).

Chapman's three-time premiership teammates Steve Johnson and James Kelly, both of whom were also delisted by Geelong in their 30s, this year showed they can still match it in their first seasons with Greater Western Sydney and Essendon respectively.

Ex-Blue Jarrad Waite – the only other current player to be a 30-plus recruit – is also making a reasonable fist of his time at North Melbourne.

Oldest recruits since 1986