The drafts of years past are littered with hits and misses, and Carlton is not immune.

A quick glance of the record books, to the national draft selections through the 20s and 40s since 1986, and the club’s recruiters can hang their hats on a future Carlton premiership player in Adrian Whitehead, a father-son in Jarrad Waite and a current member of the leadership group, the 157-game player Kade Simpson.

Current listed players Dennis Armfield, Paul Bower, Luke Mitchell and Mitch Robinson also fall into the 20s/40s selection categories.

Brett Sholl, at selection 44 in 1991, represented Carlton in its losing Grand Final team of 1993. The reluctant Castlemaine forward Stephen Oliver, at selection 26 in ‘87, headed back to the sticks in late ’94, while Adam White, selection 41 in ’94, strung together 44 senior matches and was rather embarrassingly concussed in a collision with a field umpire, before pursuing a career as a filmmaker of renown.

Carlton’s remaining selections make for particularly grim reading.
 
The following is a list of players taken with Carlton’s national draft selections in the 20s and 40s since 1986, and the number of matches in which they subsequently represented the club.

1986, selection 25 - Doug Smart (North Adelaide), 0 matches
1987, selection 26 - Stephen Oliver (Castlemaine), 13 matches
1988, selection 40 - Glenn Johnston (North Launceston), 0 matches
1989, selection 21 - Peter Doyle (Union, VCFL), 12 matches
1991, selection 28 - Cale O’Keefe (South Launceston), 0 matches; selection 44 Brett Sholl (North Melbourne), 35 matches
1992, selection 43 - Adrian Whitehead (Wodonga), 63 matches
1993, selection 48 - Matthew Hopkins (West Adelaide), 0 matches
1994, selection 41 - Adam White (Eastern U18s), 44 matches
1997, selection 23 - Adam Chatfield (NSW-ACT), one match.
2000, selection 46 - Sean O’Keeffe (Murray U18s), six matches
2001, selection 46 (F/S) - Jarrad Waite (Murray U18s), 143 matches*
2002, selection 45 - Kade Simpson (Eastern U18s), 157 matches*
2004, selection 25 - Adam Hartlett (West Adelaide), 11 matches, selection 41 (F/S) - Luke Blackwell (Swan Districts), 23 matches
2005, selection 20 - Paul Bower (Peel Thunder), 60 matches*
2007, selection 46 - Dennis Armfield (Swan Districts), 60 matches*
2008, selection 40 - Mitch Robinson (Tasmania U18s), 49 matches*
2009, selection 43 - Marcus Davies (Tasmania U18s), 13 matches*
2010, selection 42 - Luke Mitchell (Calder U18s), 0 matches*
* denotes still playing