Collingwood’s selection of Rupert Wills with pick 63 in the Tuesday night’s draft signals the first player picked up by the Magpies from their VFL affiliate.

After a year in which the VFL Magpies won a final for the first time since 2009, Wills’ selection adds another accolade to a VFL program headed by senior coach Dale Tapping.

“Rupert is a powerful, tall midfielder,” Tapping told Collingwood Media prior to the 2015 season.

“He’s got really good upside and has some genuine power with the way he plays. He’s quite an exciting player.”

VIDEO: For The Taking - Collingwood Media's new draft documentary.

Wills averaged 17.2 disposals in his six VFL games for Collingwood in 2015.

He told Collingwood Media after getting drafted by the Magpies on Tuesday night that his VFL experience would be advantageous as he embarks on an AFL career.

“It was a great opportunity to play in the VFL last year and meet some of the boys and play alongside professional players,” he said.

“Hopefully that gives me good grounding coming into next year.”

While he is the first player to upgrade his black and white VFL stripes for the AFL equivalent, he is not the first VFL Magpie to forge an AFL career.

In 2008, Collingwood gave Liam Jurrah his first taste of high-level football. Jurrah played four games for the VFL Magpies under Gavin Brown before establishing a brief but action-packed 36-game career at Melbourne.

Three years after Jurrah was drafted, Collingwood gave a spot on its 2011 VFL list to midfielder Tom Couch.

After stints at Woodville-West Torrens and Glenelg in the SANFL, Couch averaged a goal per game in his 12 VFL appearances with Collingwood.

Melbourne took note of his impressive year in the black and white and selected Couch with pick 24 in the 2012 Rookie Draft.

He played three games for the Demons before returning to play for Collingwood’s VFL side in 2014.

After briefly filling the Couch’s role in the VFL Magpies’ midfield, Wills has broken the trend of Collingwood VFL players forming AFL careers at Melbourne.

In doing so, he has also become first VFL Magpie to graduate to Collingwood’s AFL list.