Matt Priddis’ Brownlow Medal triumph on Monday proved yet another glowing endorsement for players who graduate from the Rookie List.

Priddis became the first ever ‘rookie’ to achieve the game’s highest individual honour, having been originally drafted to West Coast as a mature-age recruit with Pick No.31 at the 2006 AFL Rookie Draft.

It’s hard to believe that a player of his quality was overlooked in each of the four previous years.

It helps further promote the Rookie List as a direct pathway to playing senior football, with every club benefiting in some shape or from since its introduction.

The Brisbane Lions have had their fair share of success stories, with dual premiership player Robert Copeland boasting the most games (143) of any player who began their career as a Lions rookie.

However, you would probably expect that Irishman Pearce Hanley will eventually overtake Copeland, considering he currently sits on 96 senior games and has plenty of years ahead of him.

Joel Patfull – who was originally part of Port Adelaide’s Rookie List before joining the Lions in 2006 – is also among the more credentialed former rookies in the AFL, having played 182 games and won two Merrett-Murray Medals.

You only need to look at the Lions’ Round 23 side that faced Geelong at Simonds Stadium to see the impact of rookies at the Club.

Of the 22 Lions players who took to the field that night, eight started as rookies – Patfull, Hanley, Mitch Golby, Justin Clarke, Claye Beams, Jack Crisp, Zac O’Brien, and Jordon Bourke.

Saturday’s Grand Final will also prove a terrific advertisement of the Rookie List, with the Herald Sun revealing that up to 15 players in the AFL decider will have started as rookies.

They include the likes of Josh Gibson, Kieren Jack, Luke Breust, Heath Grundy, Will Langford, Nick Smith, Jonathan Simpkin, Dane Rampe, Brad Sewell, Harry Cunningham, Ben McGlynn, Matt Suckling, Mike Pyke, John Ceglar, and Jake Lloyd.