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
Promising midfielder Jordan Gallucci showed AFL-standard class, composure and impact per possession in Eastern's 50-point win over Gippsland on Saturday. Gallucci dominated with an impactful 36 disposals, six marks, six tackles and three goals.
Gallucci displayed two signature strengths multiple times throughout the game.
Firstly, Gallucci has a masterful ability to lower his eyes, immediately find a good target over a short or medium distance and hit them by foot, lace out, where they want it. A natural right-footer, his passes by foot feel Sam Mitchell-esque. The midfielder excels in lowering his eyes, making a quick decision and hitting his intended target off one or two steps.
This ability was impressive around the ground but even more so at stoppages under pressure, when he remained composed and executed well, regardless of the pressure he was under. On several occasions from centre bounces throughout the game, Gallucci would receive the ball by hand, lower his eyes, spot a good target and hit a 15-40m kick cleanly from the stoppage, setting up a shot at goal. He just weights his passes perfectly - gently putting it out in front of his intended targets and seemingly never missing.
Gallucci's second signature play which proved every bit as eye-catching at the weekend is his ability to burst away from stoppages at speed. On several different occasions throughout the match Gallucci explosively burst away and left everyone else in his wake and would then go on to deliver a clean kick to a target up the field.
Also impressive is Gallucci's leadership. Once after an Eastern goal in the second quarter, Gallucci ran 35m to one of his team-mates to offer a hand slap of encouragement before going back to the centre for the next bounce. It's those small acts that are most appreciated and team lifting and it's terrific to see Gallucci at such a young age display that.
Analysis
Gallucci is very much suited to the modern AFL game with his vision, quick decision-making, footskills, ability to move the ball on quickly off one or two steps and his explosive burst of pace. With these attributes, Gallucci can provide quick and meaningful ball movement, which is an asset all teams will be on the lookout for.
To take the next step, he would benefit from further developing his contested ball-winning ability. While at this stage Gallucci has some significant weapons through the midfield - and he is able to win some of his own ball - he is more of a receiver than someone who goes in and wins it himself. It's developing an improved contested element to his game that will take Gallucci to the next level and make him an impactful and productive player at AFL level.
With continued strong performances, the AFL Academy player is a first-round draft chance.
Victorian prospect watch
TAC Cup
Bottom-ager Jaidyn Stephenson in combination with Gallucci was the other major standout for Eastern in their win against Gippsland, with 10 marks and two goals from seriously difficult set shot goals from the boundary.
Stephenson's workrate was outstanding. He often went on long, hard leads and most impressively was sometimes involved in the back 50m and 15-20 seconds later flying for an impressive aerial mark just inside the 50m arc.
An area of work for Stephenson will be his strength and particularly his body-on-body strength. On several occasions, he was physically outpointed in one-on-one contests, and if he can develop his body, he will be a very hard forward to defend.
Western utility Oscar Junker continued his strong form with 26 disposals, six marks (three contested) and two goals. Junker, 191cm, was named Western's best for the third consecutive week and averages an impressive two contested marks per game. His ability to read the flight early and get to the drop of the ball particularly stands out.
Prospective first-round selection Hugh McCluggage once again was named North Ballarat's best with 27 disposals, six tackles and two goals.
Jarrod Korewha, a tall for North Ballarat, backed up his strong performance last week with 25 disposals and nine marks (three contested) in the win over Northern. Consistency has been something Korewha has lacked over the early portion of the season and his play over the remainder of the year will be watched closely by recruiters. He is one of the more unique players in this draft, playing as an athletic but versatile tall at a lean 192cm, not unlike Carlton's Andrejs Everett.
With arguably the best name in the TAC Cup, Jack Blood was among Geelong's best in their win over Calder with 27 disposals and six marks.
High-flying top-age forward Brett Blair provided his heaviest scoreboard impact for the year so far with six goals, four behinds while also managing a very impressive eight marks (two contested).
VFL
Oakleigh midfielder Campbell Lane stepped up to VFL level and fit in seamlessly on debut for Collingwood against Geelong, finishing with 14 disposals. Lane is a 179cm midfielder who has played a strong month of football in the TAC Cup with 33, 34, 32 and 34 disposals in his previous four TAC Cup games. With continued strong production, he will be a player to watch.
South Australian prospect watch
SA under-18s
North Adelaide's 180cm midfielder Dakota Nixon had his most productive game for the season with 36 disposals, eight marks, seven clearances and a goal. It bettered his performance from a week earlier when he had 33 touches.
Brayden Kirk for North Adelaide also continued his strong form with 29 disposals (13 contested possessions), seven marks and four goals.
Bottom-age talent and son of Tyson Edwards, Jackson Edwards continues to put forward performances for Glenelg suggesting he could be one of South Australia's first selected in 2017, with 36 disposals (15 contested possessions), 10 tackles, eight clearances and two goals.
Small midfieler Jake McCreery also performed strongly for Glenelg with 35 disposals, 11 marks, nine inside 50s and five goals.
Woodville West-Torrens 189cm midfielder Jackson Lee continues his solid form with 29 disposals (15 contested possessions) and six tackles. Lee may be in the mix for selection and will be a player to watch for during the AFL Under-18 Championships when division one teams get underway next month.
After spending a few weeks at reserves level, 180cm midfielder Darcy Pisani was back in the under-18s and was sound, with 29 disposals (13 contested possessions), 11 tackles and eight clearances in a performance that will put him back in the frame for more games in the reserves.
SA reserves
Son of Darren Jarman, Ben Jarman was again an effective component for North Adelaide, using the ball efficiently and finishing with 25 disposals.
SA league
Jonty Scharenberg played his first league game of the season for Glenelg, contributing well with 16 disposals and a goal in a solid performance he will look to build on.
West Australian prospect watch
WA colts
East Perth's 187cm, 87kg midfielder Mitchell Dobson put forward his most productive game of the season with 40 disposals and 10 marks in the 53-point loss to Swan Districts.
Possible West Coast father-son selection (189cm, 90kg) and utility Zane Sumich (son of Peter Sumich) managed 20 disposals and a goal in South Fremantle win against Peel.
Division two states (Tasmania, Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland and Northern Academy) prospects watch
Under-18 Championships
Gold Coast academy prospect and early front-runner to the No.1 overall selection Jack Bowes played a significant role in Queensland's big win over Northern Territory. Bowes notched 31 disposals and two goals in a classy display through the midfield.
Gold Coast's second potential first-round academy selection Brad Scheer proved a terrific compliment to Bowes through the midfield, offering strong grunt work at stoppages with 27 disposals and eight clearances.
Brisbane academy prospect and potential first-round selection Jacob Allison finished with 22 disposals, seven tackles, seven marks and two goals.
Jack Rolls, who also is part of Brisbane's academy, continues his push towards selection in the first round, finishing with 25 disposals and three goals.
Younger brother of Adelaide's Curtly Hampton, Jamie Hampton was among Northern Territory's best performers, displaying his line-breaking ability from the back half with 23 disposals.
Brandon Parfitt also performed well for Northern Territory with 25 disposals through the midfield.
Greater Western Sydney academy prospect Connor Byrne was among NSW/ACT's best in their 101-point win over Tasmania. Byrne managed 28 possessions and eight clearances, only enhancing his draft stocks in a performance that consolidated in the minds of recruiters that Byrne is yet another GWS academy talent who looms as a likely first or second round selection.
Kobe Mutch was NSW/ACT's other notable performer from the GWS academy with 26 disposals, seven clearances and a goal, continuing his strong form.
Nick Dodge was Tasmania's better performer with 25 disposals (24 kicks) and 10 tackles in another performance that will keep him in the thoughts of AFL recruiters as a potential top-age recruit.