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Is your future now? Clubs weigh up picks ahead of 2018 'super draft'

Jon Pierik

AFL clubs may have to be more cautious about ceding a future first-round pick this year ahead of what shapes as a "super draft" in 2018.

Next year's draft is expected to be loaded with potential "franchise" talent, with twins Max and Ben King, who can play key position at either end of the ground and ruck, among the headline acts.

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Impey has the power to leap, Geelong play total football to beat Crows, Suns put Eagles in the shade, GWS are awesome and go top and Dusty racks up the Brownlow votes yet again.

They play for the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup and will represent Vic Metro as bottom-age players in the national championships, starting on Saturday.

Recruiters rate the 201-centimetre boys, who attend Haileybury College, as elite talents who could even occupy the top two spots in next year's national draft. Games played over the next month will offer a clearer guide.

One veteran recruiter said on Tuesday that "at this stage, they certainly look like outstanding prospects".

Another recruiter told Fairfax Media: "If they don't make it, it shows it's pretty hard to pick players."

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Nick Blakey, the son of former AFL premiership player John, is also seen as an elite 2018 talent, and has impressed in the midfield and in defence. He could join either the Brisbane Lions or North Melbourne under the father-son rule, as John played 135 matches for Fitzroy and 224 with the Kangaroos, including the 1996 and 1999 premierships.

He could also be taken by the Sydney Swans as he is in their academy and has lived in the region for more than five years. John is an assistant coach with the Swans. Rival clubs also have the option of bidding for him.

South Australian pair Connor Rozee, who is capable of playing as an inside or outside midfielder, and athletic key forward or defender Jack Lukosius are also seen as elite talents.

Another club recruiter said future picks for 2018 would be prized assets.

"The sophistication now – obviously, you have got your eye on the quality of the draft pool. Not every draft pool is the same, so that is one of the considerations you have got to take into account if you trade," he said.

When asked if the 2018 draft could be a "super draft", another recruiter said: "A super draft? It's a terminology you could use ... it's certainly looking like a good draft."

However, recruiters have also cautioned that another growing issue is the evenness of the competition, pointing out that a club can unexpectedly slip – as Hawthorn have – and perhaps pay a greater price for giving up a future pick it initially thought would have been late in the first round.

The 2017 and '18 drafts will correspond with a spike in the salary cap, giving clubs the option of also splashing cash on established stars – as several clubs have already shown a willingness to do with Josh Kelly, Dustin Martin and Nat Fyfe yet to recommit to their clubs.

To poach players of that standard, clubs may have to consider dealing a future draft pick.

"That's the temptation," said one recruiter.

The top 10 next year is seen as being stronger than this year's crop, which is led by tough Western Jets midfielder Cameron Rayner, South Australian forward Darcy Fogarty, the Eastern Ranges' Jaidyn Stephenson and even cricketer-come-footballer Will Sutherland.

Bailey Scott, the son of former North Melbourne and Geelong player Robert Scott, also shapes as a top talent in the 2018 draft. He has three immediate options – joining the Kangaroos or Cats as a father-son, or the Gold Coast Suns as an academy player from that zone.

Scott is one of four promising father-sons available to the Cats next year, joining Garry Hocking's son Lochlan, Billy Brownless' son Oscar and David Mensch's son Baxter.

* Read a full preview of the national championships in The Age on Saturday.