To mark the thirtieth year of the National Draft, The Age is counting down the greatest draft choices one selection at a time.

Beginning at pick No. 80, reporter Matt Murnane is listing the best player taken with each choice.

As of Friday, the countdown has taken us from pick No. 80 to pick No. 21. Which Magpies have made the cut so far?

They made it
Paul Williams
Pick No. 70, 1989
The speedster played 189 games for Collingwood before adding a further 117 for Sydney, collecting a flag, a best-and-fairest award and an All-Australian berth in the process. He was a simple choice for Murnane, who placed him ahead of Carlton’s Nick Duigan.

Tom Langdon
Pick No. 65, 2013
A revelation since debuting in the opening round of the 2014 season, Langdon has played 41 of a possible 44 games in the two years since. Murnane reports players that have been drafted at that selection have played a combined 22 games. Langdon certainly is one out of the box.

Tyson Goldsack
Pick No. 63, 2006
A premiership player and one of the most dependable the club has had on its hands since his debut in 2007. Goldsack, who was an overage player in his final year in the TAC Cup, was a member of Collingwood’s leadership group in 2015 and has managed 137 games in nine years. He beat James Gwilt (drafted to St Kilda in 2004) for top spot.

Dane Swan
Pick No. 58, 2001
A Brownlow Medallist at pick No. 58? Surely it ranks as one of the finest draft steals of all time? Of the others in contention, Ben Hudson called Collingwood home for the last seven of his 168 games.

Heath Scotland
Pick No. 44, 1998
He might have made his name at Princes Park, but Scotland was an important member of Collingwood’s back-to-back Grand Final teams in 2002 and 2003. He went on to tally 268 senior games and pipped Adelaide’s Rory Sloane as the best of pick No. 44.

Travis Cloke
Pick No. 39, 2004
A gift of the father-son rule, Cloke joined older brothers Jason and Cameron on the list while he was still completing his VCE. Eleven years later, he has 233 games and 424 goals to his name.

So close
Rupert Betheras
Pick No. 76, 1998
Beaten for the honour by Richmond’s Andrew Raines, Betheras played 85 games between 1999 and 2003 and was a member of Collingwood’s Grand Final team of 2002.

Ben Johnson
Pick No. 62, 1999
A premiership, 235 games and two second-placings in the Copeland Trophy weren’t enough to get Johnson the gong. That went to Andrew Thompson, who was one of St Kilda’s best players in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Heath Shaw
Pick No. 48, 2003
Geelong champion Darren Milburn was the man who nabbed Heath’s spot. Milburn played 292 games for the Cats between 1997 and 2011, nudging out Shaw, who became an All-Australian with Greater Western Sydney this year.

Scott Russell
Pick No. 39, 1989
Given that he has been trumped by a fellow Magpie in Travis Cloke, perhaps we can deal with that. Russell played 198 games for Collingwood and Sydney, and had a starring role in our 1990 premiership.

Craig Kelly 1988, Leon Davis 1999
Pick No. 34
Daryn Cresswell was a Sydney stalwart during the 1990s, earning a place in the club’s Team of the Century, but both Davis and Kelly would be worthy recipients of the top honour.

Dayne Beams
Pick No. 29
One of Derek Hine’s finest draft selections, Beams played 110 games for Collingwood between 2009 and 2014. Now at Brisbane, he falls in behind Richmond champion Wayne Campbell.

Chris Dawes
Pick No. 28
Dawes was a key to Collingwood’s 2010 premiership, but it’s not enough to earn him top spot in this contest. That honour goes to Essendon’s Jason Johnson, who played 184 games and earned the best-and-fairest during the club’s Grand Final year of 2001.