Since 1996, the AFL rookie draft has gifted many players a second chance.

Hawthorn has been no stranger to the Rookie Draft and, as has been their way during trade period, they certainly seem to know how to find a diamond in the rough.

The Hawks have a knack of turning the overlooked and outcast into premiership players.

We take a look at some of their best rookie draft selections.

Stephen Gilham, 2005 Rookie draft
Delisted by Port Adelaide at the end of the 2005 season, Stephen Gilham was picked up by the Hawks with pick 34 in the 2006 Rookie Draft.
After an injury hampered career at Port Adelaide, many questioned Gilham’s ability to have an impact at Hawthorn, but they were soon proved wrong.
Gilham went on to play 99 career matches for the Hawks, including a crucial role in the Hawks’ 2008 premiership team.

Brad Sewell, 2003 Rookie draft
‘Started from the bottom now we here.’
No one quite sums up the words of Drake, like Brad Sewell.
Sewell started on the rookie-list and retired a 200 game player, Peter Crimmins Medal winner and dual premiership player.
Taken with pick 7 in the 2003 Rookie Draft, Brad Sewell was a crucial member of the club’s 2008 and 2013 premiership success, and was the Hawk’s best player in their 2012 grand final defeat.
Sewell played his 200th -and final - game in Hawthorn’s qualifying final win over Geelong in 2013, before he was dropped for the preliminary final against Port Adelaide and could not regain his spot for the grand final.

Luke Breust, 2009 Rookie draft
Not only has Breust featured in the past three Hawks flags, he’s recognized as one of the game’s top small forwards.
Since being selected with Pick 47 in the 2009 Rookie Draft, Breust has played 140 games for the Hawks, kicked 271 goals and has three premiership medallions.
A NAB Rising Star nominee (2011) and All-Australian (2014) player, there is no arguing that Breust is certainly one who slipped through the cracks to make it all the way to pick 47 in the rookie draft.

Matt Suckling, 2007 Rookie Draft
Skilful left footer Matt Suckling joined the Hawks with pick 22 in the 2007 Rookie Draft, becoming a two-time premiership player.
The 27-year-old played 102 games for the club, before joining Western Bulldogs at the end of the 2015 season.
The Wagga Wagga product was a regular for the Hawks in 2011 and 2012, before an ACL injury saw him miss all of 2013 – and the first of the club’s three-peat premierships.
But Suckling bounced back to feature the following year, and as the substitute in the Hawks’ 2015 premiership.

Will Langford, 2011 Rookie Draft
Born into Hawthorn royalty as the son of four-time Hawk premiership legend Chris, Will Langford was forced to bide his time.
The No.85 pick in the 2011 Rookie Draft (NSW scholarship selection) waited almost three full seasons before earning his senior debut in round 17, 2013.
Langford has played 46 games in his time at the Hawks but none more memorable than the 2014 grand final where he gathered 21 disposals, laid six tackles and kicked three brilliant goals in the premiership win.

Michael Osborne, 2001 Rookie Draft
Utility Michael Osborne got a taste of AFL football in his first season, 2001, and by 2003 was a regular for the Hawks.
Recruited from Labrador in Queensland, Osborne played 168 games for the Hawks in a career spanning 13 seasons.
His best year was undoubtedly in 2008 – the year the club won its first premiership under Alastair Clarkson – when Osborne played a career-best 23 games and averaged a career-high 18 disposals per game.