This week 13 years ago, Melbourne - who finished a nightmare season with four wins, a percentage of 60 and, consequently, the wooden spoon - used its No.1 draft pick on a slender young midfielder from Edithvale. His name was Travis Johnstone and he was going to help lead the Demons out of the wilderness.

And for several seasons, Johnstone went close to fulfilling those hopes, and the expectations invariably heaped upon any draftee saddled with the title of best young player in the land.

He wasn't overly fast, but his skills were sublime and how David Neitz and others in the Melbourne forward line licked their lips in anticipation when Trav came steaming towards them, because it invariably meant silver-service delivery - on a platter. Lace out, straight down the throat.

But fast-forward 13 years and, among the list of hundreds of wannabes, might-bes and never-wases who have nominated for the 2010 AFL national draft, we see the name of T Johnstone, formerly of Melbourne and Brisbane and now seeking his third club.

Now 30, Johnstone will be one of the 37 previously-listed AFL players seeking a new home in the draft, but none of them have had quite the pedigree of Trav: No.1 draftee, 2005 club best-and-fairest, 209 games and equal fourth in the voting for the 2002 Brownlow Medal as a 22-year-old.

In keeping with his gone-native appearance, Johnstone has been trying to keep up his fitness in the off-season by playing for Palmerston North in the frontier Darwin footy league.

Those early days must seem a distant memory. Johnstone's career at the Junction Oval got off to a shining start, playing 13 games in his debut season with the Demons, earning a Rising Star nomination in just his sixth appearance.

He not only had to handle the pressure associated with the No.1 tag, but also had to live in the footsteps of his grandfather and Fitzroy Team of the Century member Norm Johnstone, who played 228 games for the Lions from 1944-57.

Lean and skilful, he quickly established himself as one of the game's best young midfielders, playing a key role in the Demons' march to the 2000 grand final. After the fourth-placing in the 2002 Brownlow, his best year came in 2005 as he played every game on his way to easily winning Melbourne's best and fairest award and the Demons' most consistent player award.

From then his star started to fade.

Johnstone was continually criticized for not tearing a game apart like his colleagues from the class of '97, and premiership players, Brad Ottens, Trent Croad and Luke Power, all of whom were taken in the first five selections of that year's draft.

But he tended to suffer from the Mark Waugh Syndrome, in which he was judged harshly for making sport look so deceptively simple. He might have been trying as hard as any of his teammates but, to some, it looked as though he was loafing.

After 10 years at the Demons, the club decided to make the tough call at the end of the 2007 season and put Johnstone up for trade. It was a controversial move because, for all his inconsistency, the No.16 was wildly popular at Melbourne, his number adorning the back of many junior Demons.

In the end, he was traded to the Brisbane in exchange for pick 14. The move was met with much angst by Demons supporters and Melbourne list manager Craig Cameron was forced to defend the club's stance: "It's always a tough one when you trade out a player of that quality. Travis is a favourite player of a lot of our supporters and it's a difficult day for a lot of them."

Little did those same fans realise that with the pick they got for Johnstone, they would receive Jack Grimes, a potential future captain.

Johnstone spent the next three years at the Lions from 2008, struggling to fit into a very strong midfield. His form was initially strong, finishing inside the top 10 for Brisbane's best and fairest award, but then things began to sour.

This year he took grooming advice from the Wild Man of Borneo, growing a shabby beard and tied his flowing locks in a headband. It led to some commentators dubbing him the homeless man of AFL football. His form started to drop off at the same time as he spent the majority of the second half of the season in the reserves.

At 30, it seems unlikely any club would take the risk on such a footballing eccentric.

So it would appear Johnstone's playing career at the elite level has come to an end. Unless, of course, a club has a spot available for a silky-skilled, shaggy-bearded midfielder who can, when he's 'on', mix it with the game's best.