The National Draft has thrown up plenty of hits and misses over the years.

In many cases, top selections may not have fulfilled expectations while beneath the first and second rounds buried treasure has been unearthed.

Then there’s the Preseason Draft, of which the Sydney Swans have been experts in polishing recycled or overlooked players into absolute gems.

As the 2015 National and Preseason Drafts draw near, sydneyswans.com.au will take a look at some drafts from the past to see what worked and what didn’t.

It was a little while before the Sydney Swans entered the 1999 National Draft.

The Swans were armed with Pick 11 initially but surrendered that (along with Pick 41) for West Coast ruckman Jason Ball during the exchange period.

The move proved a masterstroke following Ball’s retirement in 2005, his final appearance being the long-awaited premiership.

Sydney’s next selection wouldn’t have come until Pick 26, of which had already been allocated to nominated father-son Stephen Doyle so the Swans’ brain trust needed to do something.

Stephen Doyle and Hawthorn's Ben Holland go head-to-head in a ruck contest in 2002.

They traded Stefan Carey on to Brisbane in exchange for Pick 21.

As history tells us, the Swans didn’t need a first, second or even a third-round selection to uncover a future champion.

The Swans welcomed Perth-based Scott Stevens with Pick 21 and following up by putting the son of South Melbourne ruckman Robert Doyle at ease.

Stevens played 25 games for the Swans before enjoying a 100+ game career at Adelaide while Doyle, who had to fight hard for his ruck spot, was serviceable in his 47 matches which included the 2006 losing Grand Final.

Thirty selections later, the Swans would acquire the services of nuggety on-baller Ryan O’Keefe.

The 19-year-old, following a debut season, would announce himself in 2001 by winning the Swans’ Rising Star Award.

Over the course of his decorated 286-game career O’Keefe would win play in two premierships, be judged best-on-ground in one (2012), win a Bob Skilton Medal and earn All Australian honours.

Rowan Warfe, Andrew Schauble, Gerrard Bennett, Ryan O'Keefe and Leo Barry on top of the Centrepoint Tower celebrating 20 years of the Sydney Swans Football Club in Sydney in 2001.

The Swans weren’t finished.

Two-time premiership player Brett Allison had been released by North Melbourne and entered the draft, with the Swans giving the small forward a chance at extending his career.

Allison would only manage nine games in the red and white, retiring at the end of 2000 after 228 matches for the Roos and Swans combined.

In the lead up to the 1999 AFL season, a young midfielder from North Albury by the name of Brett Kirk was taken with Pick 40 in the Rookie Draft.

He debuted in Round 19 and played the next four matches including the qualifying final against North Melbourne.

Kirk averaged 16 disposals during that period and was a genuine star on the rise. So much so he earned a rookie elevation during the following National Draft.

Despite experiencing an up and down 2000, Kirk bounced back to eventually cement his spot in the senior side and become a beacon of the strong culture emerging within the playing group at the time.

Kirk would retire at the end of a distinguished 241-game career a premiership player, dual Bob Skilton Medallist, All Australian and a former club captain.

Brett Kirk. Enough said.

Kirk and premiership teammate O’Keefe wasn’t the only success stories from the ’99 lotteries.

The Swans already had runs on the board having traded in Ball, a ready-made ruckman from the Eagles, and robust defender Andrew Schauble (from Collingwood).

For Ball, out went Pick 11 (Darren Glass) and Pick 41 (Kane Munro). For Schauble, out went Mark Kinnear and Pick 34 (Leon Davis).

Ball would go on to play 90 matches for the Swans, his last ending in the best way possible. Announcing his retirement ahead of the 2005 finals series, Ball would become a dual premiership player having already played in the 1994 flag with the Eagles as well.

Schauble was a reliable defender who, after a series of games for Collingwood, played 88 matches for the Swans.

He won the Bob Skilton Medal in his first year but ultimately didn’t taste ultimate success after being struck down with injury and forced into retirement at the end of 2005.

In the final part of our ‘Drafts from the past’, we fast-forward to 2002 when current-day captain Jarrad McVeigh found his way to the Swans.

Barry Hall, Jason Ball, Andrew Schauble and Jared Crouch celebrate a win in 2003.