Each week, ESPN.com.au AFL draft expert Christopher Doerre - aka Knightmare - casts his eye over the country's best junior footballers to give readers an early insight into the next generation of AFL stars.
As well as attending live games, Doerre pores through match vision, analyses the stats and talks to industry sources to ensure he can offer the most insightful draft analysis.
Aside from the weekly wrap, Doerre will also unveil his power rankings at the end of each month, starting from April.
And as we get closer to November's national draft, Doerre will also predict who goes where with his annual phantom draft.
Player focus
Dandenong Stingray midfielder/forward Myles Poholke is a name to look out for in this year's AFL draft. Poholke -- a member of the AIS AFL Academy -- was not among Dandenong's best on the weekend against Western, but in a game that was overshadowed by blustery conditions, it was difficult for anyone to announce themselves as a future AFL footballer.
Key players for both Dandenong and Western missed the game as private school footballers are required to represent their schools. Private school football offers greater opportunity for some lesser tried names and bottom age talents to receive opportunities through the TAC Cup that they otherwise would miss out on.
Poholke showed glimpses throughout the game that he's set for a future in the AFL, with a willingness to offer run and carry on a few occasions. His tackling effort and endeavour also was impressive, finishing the game with 10 tackles. He's also a powerful player already boasting an 84kg frame. The key feature of Poholke's game that makes him a potentially draftable player is his marking ability and strength of hands overhead.
Despite standing at only 184cm, Poholke is a contested marking threat who managed three contested marks against Bendigo earlier in the year and four contested marks last year against Sandringham. He also possesses very strong hands overhead and is strong in body-on-body contests.
Given Poholke's strength overhead he is expected to develop into a combination midfielder/forward who can be effective in either role with his goal-a-game average through 2015 and 2016 very promising.
Analysis
To further develop his game Poholke will need to continue working on his endurance and start winning more of the ball. Only once in 2016 has he managed a 20+ disposal game so it's a clear area for improvement.
Despite the lack of ball won, the major weaknesses in Poholke's game is his kicking. While his efficiency is above 50% (mainly thanks to a high proportion of short, safe kicks) he too often misses targets around the ground by foot over a variety of distances that have resulted in bad turnovers over the past two season.
Victorian prospect watch:
Calder top age key forward Karl Brown kicked a dominating nine goals for Calder in their win against Gippsland, topping his previous best goal kicking haul of 2015 which was eight. Brown is a 193cm contested marking beast who nine marks (five contested) on the weekend. Brown appears to have slimmed down in an effort to improve his endurance and is ready to become more than just a big, commanding marking target inside the forward 50m.
Excitement machine Hugh McCluggage once again put in a special performance for North Ballarat with a season high five goals, 36 disposals and eight tackles in their win against Bendigo.
North Ballarat teammate William Drew also played a prominent role in the Rebels win with 31 disposals and a goal through the midfield.
191cm Western Jet utility Oscar Junker coped best during the first half against Dandenong in Williamstown. Junker managed the unrelenting wind well and was able to read the flight of the ball better than anyone on the park. His ability to take front position and take countless intercept marks was a clear highlight taking six marks (three contested).
Dandenong small forward Daniel Allsop put on great forward pressure in the front half with 10 tackles and was lively up forward and looked a likely goal kicker every time he found the ball forward of centre. However, despite looking dangerous for large chunks of the game, Allsop needs to focus on bringing his teammates into the game. Too often Allsopp ignored options as it seemed he was playing with the blinkers on.
Top age prospect Thomas Glen for Dandenong kept the statisticians busy with 41 disposals through the midfield, dominating at the stoppages and also at one stage using a hesitation move in traffic to create space for himself before handballing out to an outside runner which was among the more eye-catching plays of the game.
Bottom age midfielder James Worpel (185cm, 82kg) continued his outstanding play for Geelong with 27 disposals and three goals in Geelong's win over Eastern in a performance that only furthers his credentials for 2017.
South Australian prospect watch:
SA Under 18s:
Jackson Edwards (son of Tyson) in the SA Under 18s was one of the catalysts through the midfield behind Glenelg's 137-point win over Central Districts. Jackson managed a dominant 37 disposals (18 contested), 13 clearances, five inside 50s and two goals. Edwards is ineligible to join the Crows this year but will be one for Adelaide fans to watch out for in 2017.
184cm midfielder Isaac Hewson is another bottom ager to have had a strong round. Like Edwards, Hewson managed a highly impressive 33 disposals, 15 contested possessions, nine clearances and eight inside 50s in Norwood's loss to Sturt.
SA Reserves:
North Adelaide ruck prospect Jordan Sweet continued his strong play in the SANFL Reserves with 43 hitouts while also managing 10 disposals in an encouraging performance for the 203cm, 105kg monster who continues to put forward performances that suggest he will be one of the first ruckmen selected in 2016.
Ben Jarman (son of star forward Darren Jarman) also performed strongly in the Reserves for North Adelaide with a 23 disposal and two goal match. Darren Jarman played over 100 games with both Hawthorn and Adelaide which gives Ben the choice if there is interest from both clubs at season's end to choose which club he would like to nominate. Jarman is a skilled small midfielder at only 175cm with acceleration and the ability to play inside and outside. He also has the ability to offer strong scoreboard impact.
Top South Australian midfield prospect Jonty Scharenberg for Glenelg continues to perform well at Reserves level. In their narrow loss to North Adelaide he put in a solid 23 disposals to feature among Glenelg's best.
SA League:
26-year-old mature age key forward prospect Brett Eddy continues his hot start to the season, with a six goal haul in South Adelaide's one-point win against Adelaide to take his season tally up to 22 goals.
Eddy looks to be the best mature age key forward prospect in this year's draft, leading the SANFL goal kicking by nine goals. If Eddy continues to hit the scoreboard frequently he will surely receive consideration from clubs as a rookie selection, looming as a more than capable immediate key forward.
West Australian prospect watch:
WA Colts (Under 18s)
In Claremont's 99 point win over West Perth, Jeremy Goddard had his strongest game for the season finishing with 40 hit outs and 17 disposals. It was a highly impressive game from Goddard not only due to his ruck dominance but also because he managed to find the footy around the ground which has long been a missing area from his game.
Teammate and potential West Coast Father Son selection Jake Waterman was again very promising up forward for Claremont with 24 disposals, nine marks and three goals from six scoring shots.
180cm midfielder Michael Humble performed strongly for Peel in their loss to Perth. Humble is a hard, aggressive midfielder who thrives on the contested side of the game and loves to tackle. Humble finished with 29 disposals, nine marks, seven tackles and a goal in what was his best game so far this season.
Luke Strnadica the East Fremantle big man standing at 199cm, 88kg turned in his strongest performance so far this season with 15 disposals, 12 hitouts, nine marks and two goals. Given Strnadica managed five and six goal hauls in the WA Colts last year, the expectation will be that he builds upon this performance.
WA League:
204cm, 20-year-old big man Darcy Cameron from Claremont at League level continued his strong play with another four goal haul. This is the second consecutive week in a row Cameron has managed to boot four goals and the third time this season. Cameron is a capable tap ruckman but also continues to show his competence forward of centre and may be a possible relief ruck for a team looking for a tall. Cameron is the equal leading goal kicker this season in the WAFL with 16 goals.
Division 2 states (Tasmania, Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland and Northern Academy) prospects watch
Rolls in the NEAFL was among Brisbane's most productive with 22 disposals, nine marks, and five rebound 50s, furthering his case as a likely Academy selection for Brisbane.
Nick Dodge in the TAC Cup was once again the strongest performer for Tasmania, in their loss to Northern with 30 disposals, seven tackles and a goal, backing up his strong performance last week against Eastern.