It isn’t quite the famous Super Draft of 2001 that gave the AFL Luke Hodge, but the 2016 AFL Draft is starting to build a high-level record of performance that could one day see it challenge it.

And according to well-respected AFL commentator Terry Wallace, emerging Brisbane Lions midfield star Hugh McCluggage is stamping an early claim to be the best player from the Class of 2016.

Just as the 2001 Draft featured Hawthorn champion turn Brisbane recruit Hodge, St.Kilda and Collingwood Luke Ball and West Coast and Carlton Brownlow Medallist Chris Judd at 1-2-3, the 2016 Draft looks to have unearthed three emerging stars in Essendon’s Andrew McGrath (#1), GWS’s Tim Taranto (#2) and McCluggage (#3).

Wallace, having tipped McCluggage to go at #1 in the 2016 Draft ahead of McGrath and Taranto, is sticking by the North Ballarat Rebels ace to be the best player of that Draft.

50 games for this bloke today @HughMcCluggage_ pic.twitter.com/1QREyBi21C

— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) May 26, 2019

Speaking recently on SEN, Wallace said “they are going to be three great players but I’m sticking with McCluggage … he’s like a Rolls Royce .. he’s got that little extra bit of polish.”

After McCluggage posted his 50^th AFL game against Fremantle in Perth on Sunday there is nothing to suggest he’s not going to be right.

The other undeniable fact is that in McCluggage, Jarrod Berry and Alex Witherden, chosen by the Lions at #3-17-23 in the draft, might just be the best group to emerge from the Class of 2016. And that’s not including the promising Cedric Cox, who was pick #24 in the same draft and is biding his time in the NEAFL.

Through 50 games 21-year-old McCluggage has averaged 18.54 possessions and 1.5 goals.

On a year-by-year basis, he has gone from averaging 15.1 possessions a game in 2017 to 19.4 in 2018 and 22.9 this year.

After topping 20 possessions just once in his 18-game debut season he had 10 games of 20 or more possessions in 22 games last year, and has gone past 20 possessions nine times in 10 games this year.

And, in the area of his game which Wallace suggested three years ago was the reason he preferred him at #1, McCluggage has gone from averaging 0.44 goals per game in his first season and 0.45gpg in his second season to 1.2gpg this season.

It is a number that will be music to the ears of Wallace, who, forecasting the top 10 in the 2016 Draft said on the eve of the draft: “At No.1 I have Hugh McCluggage. I’ve stayed with Hugh the whole way through. I know there’s a lot of discussion about him and McGrath – his ability to kick goals from the middle of the ground is the reason I picked him.”

McCluggage was the fourth player from the 2016 Draft to reach 50 games behind Geelong’s mature-age recruit Tom Stewart (53), Carlton’s Sam Petrevski-Seton (52) and McGrath (51).

Completing the top 10 are Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper (48), Taranto (47), Sydney’s Will Hayward (47), Berry (46), North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin (44), Carlton’s Zac Fisher (44) and Geelong’s Brendan Parfitt (43), with Witherden (40) ranked 13^th.

McCluggage, with 927 possessions, ranks fourth behind McGrath (1017), Stewart (990) and Taranto (976) and ahead of Witherden (898), Powell-Pepper (879), Petrevski-Seton (835), Berry (794), Fremantle’s Luke Ryan (769) and Fisher (730).

And with 30 goals, McCluggage ranks fourth behind Hayward (58), Melbourne mature-age recruit Mitch Hannan (44) and West Coast’s Willie Rioli (31), and ahead of Powell-Pepper (29), Gold Coast’s Ben Ainsworth (26), Berry (24), Parfitt (24), Fremantle’s Brennan Cox (24) and Simpkin (24).

Taranto has kicked 20 goals and McGrath 11 goals.

Among  72 players who have played 50 games from debut for the Brisbane Football Club, McCluggage’s 927 possessions ranks eighth. And among this group his 30 goals ranks fourth.

Statistics for the top dozen 50-game players from debut with the club have been:-