Nine years ago next week, the Geelong Cats recruited an 18-year-old utility, Daniel Menzel, from the Central Districts in the SANFL with their first-round pick in the AFL Draft.

He was taken at selection No. 17 overall, three spots ahead of Fremantle Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe, 17 spots ahead of Melbourne All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn, 17 spots ahead of three-time Hawthorn premiership forward Jack Gunston, 21 spots ahead of Sydney’s Sam Reid and 29 spots ahead of three-time Hawthorn premiership defender Ben Stratton.

In the same Draft, Sydney took Gary Rohan at pick six, Lewis Jetta at 14 and Reid at 38, plus one-gamer Byron Sumner at 54 and 19-gamer Trent Dennis-Lane at 55.

In his first profile in the AFL Guide in 2010, Menzel was likened to Geelong champions Corey Enright and Joel Corey as a player who could play in different positions, while he was lauded for his endurance and football smarts.

After a solid first season in the VFL he played the last three games of the 2010 AFL home-and-away season, collecting 12 disposals and kicking one goal on debut in a 101-point win and following up with three goals from three kicks in his second game.

He kicked four goals in his 14^th game in 2011 to win a Rising Star nomination and quickly became a crowd favourite at Geelong, drawing comparisons with Steve Johnson.

Wearing guernsey No. 10 worn most often at Geelong by premiership captain, Team of the Century centre half-forward and Australian Football Hall of Famer Fred Flanagan, Menzel won his first 15 AFL games.

In his 20^th game he had a then personal-best 17 possessions and kicked an equal career-best five goals as the second-placed Cats beat ladder-leader and minor premier Collingwood by 96 points in front of a crowd of 85,705 to collect his first three Brownlow Medal votes.

Fair to say things were going pretty well for Menzel, who seven years later has joined the growing list of ex-Cats at the Swans.

At the time he’d played 20 games for 17 wins, 30 goals and 245 disposals as he prepared for his first finals campaign.

But in the qualifying final against Hawthorn it all went horribly wrong when the emerging young star ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.

Instead of sharing in the Cats’ 2011 premiership win three weeks later he began a story we’ve heard over and over again. Four knee reconstructions and 1450 days between his 21st and 22^nd games as his team played 94 matches.

It was a sad parallel to the tragic football story of Swans 2012 premiership team member Alex Johnson, who went 2136 days and 142 Swans games between his 45^th and 46^th games, and this year underwent his sixth reconstruction.

But, as much as the Menzel story should not be discounted and will never be forgotten, it is now old news. Three years old.

From 2016-18, Menzel played 50 games, kicked 100 goals and finished third, third and second on Geelong's goal-kicking leaderboard. And but for a 10-week groin problem in 2018, which was inflamed by a cortisone injection that didn’t do what was hoped, his numbers would have been even better.

Despite playing only 50 of a possible 72 Cats games in that time, he ranks 21^st in the AFL in goals for this period and sixth among small/medium forwards. Only Eddie Betts (159), Luke Breust (134), Robbie Gray (108), Toby Greene (105) and the now retired Mark LeCras (102) kicked more.

On a goals-per-game basis, Menzel’s 2.0 average for this period ranks 17^th in the League and third among small/medium forwards, behind only Betts (2.41) and Greene (2.06) and ahead of the likes of Breust (1.94), Robbie Gray (1.71), Orazio Fantasia (1.69), LeCras (1.57), Chad Wingard (1.45), Michael Walters (1.40) and Paul Puopolo (1.28).

If you cut the sample size back to 2017-18, Menzel’s 2.09 goals-per-game average ranks second among small/medium forwards, behind only Greene (2.18) and ahead of Betts (2.00), Breust (1.93), Gray (1.89) and Fantasia (1.79).

And in 2018 his win ratio in one-on-one contests of 42.5 per cent ranks sixth in the entire competition.

Despite not playing for 1450 days, Menzel ranks a staggering third in career goals among first-time draftees from the class of 2009. Only Gunston (341) and pick three Dustin Martin (218) have kicked more. And his 55 career wins sees him ranked 19^th among 2009 draftees.

He has been held goalless only 13 times in 73 games, and just six times in 50 matches in the last three years.

And, not insignificantly, he has never lost more than two games in a row.

What will also not have escaped the attention of coach John Longmire is Menzel’s 100 goals in the last three years which would put him second on the Swans goal list for the same period ahead of Tom Papley (83) and behind only Franklin (211).

Menzel has joined a steady recent influx of ex-Cats to the Swans headlined by former Geelong premiership captain Tom Harley, who's set to move from his role as Head of Football to CEO.

Forwards coach Steve Johnson, who kicked five goals in Menzel’s AFL debut, also follows former 51-game Cat Charlie Gardiner, who was appointed to step into Harley’s role in charge of the football operations, as well as fellow off-season signing and 46-game Cat Jackson Thurlow.

Menzel will also be reunited with ex-Cats teammate turned Swans development coach Jeremy Laidler, and ex-Geelong Falcons Under-18 products Tom McCartin, Lewis Melican and Matthew Ling.

Ironically, Laidler, who played 24 games with Carlton (2011-13) and 61 games with Sydney (2014-17), played only two games at Geelong (2009-10) but played his last game in the blue and white hoops in what was Menzel’s first.

Oddly, Menzel has only once played at the SCG. And that was in his seventh game in Round 4, 2011. It was Johnson’s second game, Reid’s fifth game and Rohan’s 13^th game. Geelong won by 27 points.