Each week, ESPN.com.au AFL draft expert Chris Doerre 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 wraps, Doerre will also unveil his power rankings at the end of each month and as we get closer to November's national draft, Doerre will also predict who goes where with his annual phantom draft.
Player Focus
Helping Gippsland to 44-point victory against Murray on Sunday at Punt Road Oval, Xavier Duursma was one of the stars. Duursma amassed 23 disposals, 11 contested possessions, five inside 50s and one goal. The 185cm, 71kg midfielder's game bares similarities to Carlton's Sam Docherty who once also developed in the Gippsland program.
He is an aggressive runner who takes on the game, backing in his pace to break the lines. One of Duursma's most striking plays against Murray was when he picked up a ground ball cleanly at speed before kicking long inside 50 to set up a goal. He also booted an impressive goal when he recognised the players in front of him were wrestling and distracted so he played on, running to 35m and finished cleanly.
Duursma, who captains Gippsland, is also a vocal leader. He made it clear at half-time when Gippsland was up 25 points. In returning to the field, he slapped hands with teammates as they came out of the rooms, provided positive talk and loudly announced to his teammates "we've got this."
Duursma, who is the son of Ex-Sydney and Melbourne player Dean Duursma and the nephew of Jamie Duursma (59 games between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne) is in the mix to feature inside the first or second round in this year's draft.
TAC Cup
Elite endurance runner Ed McHenry competed strongly for Geelong through the midfield in their loss to Dandenong. The 176cm, 71kg midfielder amassed 26 disposals, 16 contested possessions, five tackles, 11 clearances and five inside 50s.
One of this year's most highly touted midfielders Sam Walsh also held up strongly through the Geelong midfield. The 183cm, 74kg midfielder accumulated 26 disposals, 15 contested possessions, nine tackles and four clearances. Walsh has developed a reputation for his pace and ball-winning capabilities.
Developing as a ball-winning midfielder who hits the scoreboard, Campbell Hustwaite was one of Dandenong's best. The 184cm, 74kg midfielder gathered 21 disposals, 12 contested possessions, eight tackles, seven clearances, five inside 50s and two goals.
After spending most of 2017 as a clean-kicking half-back flanker, Scott Carlin stood out through the Greater Western Victoria mids. The 185cm, 78kg, skilful midfielder impressed with 30 disposals, 15 contested possessions and six clearances.
Hurting the opposition offensively and providing impressive forward pressure, Charlie Wilson figured prominently for Greater Western Victoria with 20 disposals, eight contested possessions, seven tackles, four clearances, eight inside 50s and two goals. The 180cm, 78kg forward is a speedy ground level player who creates turnovers through his forward pressure.
Looking to have taken another step forward this season, Zane Keighran, an Australian under-16 cricketer, played an integral part in Bendigo's win against Greater Western Victoria. The 182cm, 79kg classy midfielder amassed 28 disposals, 10 marks (three contested), 14 contested possessions, four clearances and six rebound 50s.
Making the most of his opportunities up forward, Will Holt was named Bendigo's best in their exciting one-point win against Greater Western Victoria. Holt managed 10 disposals, six marks (two contested) and five goals. The 189cm, 92kg forward provided a presence up forward and was the sides only multi goal kicker.
Underage defender Lachlan Ash was Murray's best, impressing down back with his run and rebound. The 186cm, 77kg defender amassed 28 disposals, seven marks and eight rebound 50s.
Overage midfielder Laitham Vandermeer was a spark-plug for Murray. The 180cm, 76kg speedster gathered 20 disposals, seven contested possessions and six inside 50s. Vandermeer showed serious x-factor and felt dangerous each time he was around the ball with his pace and precise kicking.
Impressive with his cleanness at ground level, precise skills and evasiveness, underage midfielder Dylan Clarke made an impression for Murray. The 181cm, 80kg, midfielder gathered 19 disposals and eight contested possessions.
Eligible as a father-son selection for Brisbane, Jake Bradshaw, the son Daniel Bradshaw, had several exciting moments for Murray. The skilful 187cm, 85kg, midfielder gathered 17 disposals. The most impressive play from Bradshaw was upon taking a mark in centre, he immediately wheeled around onto his left boot and found his intended target on his own inside 50.
A livewire up forward, Sam Flanders impressed with his work at ground level, acceleration with ball in hand and how quickly he got the ball moving. The 183cm, 81kg underage forward gathered 21 disposals, eight contested possessions, five tackles, one goal and two score assists.
Leading up to the ball strongly, Austin Hodge, a 190cm, 83kg forward had several positive moments. The leading forward gathered 15 disposals, two goals and two score assists. He also showed evasiveness in traffic and used the ball effectively kicking into the forward 50.
Excelling at ground level and heaping on the forward pressure, Irving Mosquito was dangerous every time he went near the ball. The exciting 175cm, 69kg forward collected 15 disposals, eight contested possessions, six tackles and two goals.
Underage power forward Josh Smith was the focal point up forward for Gippsland. The 194cm, 100kg key forward gathered 10 disposals, seven marks (one contested), three goals and three score assists. Smith is very much a marking power forward who is effective both on the lead and one-on-one. It was pleasing to see Smith's unselfishness setting up goals and actively looking for and hitting teammates closer to goal.
Stoppage specialist Braedyn Gillard was named the best for Northern Knights in their loss to Sandringham. The 183cm, 77kg midfielder did much of the grunt work at stoppages gathering 22 disposals, 16 contested possessions, five tackles and six clearances.
Leading the way for Sandringham in their win against Northern, captain Bailey Smith put together a monster performance. Smith amassed 37 disposals, 22 contested possessions, seven tackles, 12 clearances, eight inside 50s and two score assists. The 184cm, 79kg midfielder spent time playing both as a midfielder and rebounding defender in 2017. Smith has built a reputation both for his ball-winning capabilities and as a damaging and efficient ball user.
Son of Dean Anderson, who played a combined 150 games for Hawthorn and St Kilda, Noah Anderson figured prominently at stoppages for Oakleigh in their convincing win against Eastern. The 188cm, 86kg underage midfielder was important at stoppages, amassing 25 disposals, 15 contested possessions, eight clearances, six inside 50s and one goal.
Displaying a high work rate and using the ball effectively in the rain, the 183cm, 78kg, Xavier O'Neill was influential through Oakleigh's midfield. O'Neill gathered 23 disposals, 10 contested possessions and two goals.
Experiencing a growth spurt over the offseason, Riley Collier-Dawkins is swiftly developing into one of this year's most interesting midfield prospects. The still growing 193cm, 88kg midfielder did plenty of the grunt work and distribution by hand. The exciting midfielder amassed 22 disposals (17 handballs), 14 contested possessions, five tackles and four score assists.
Looking a class above, underage midfielder Matthew Rowell was a standout for Oakleigh with 22 disposals and two score assists. The 178cm, 74kg midfielder was not troubled by the wet, proving one touch at ground level and importantly keeping the ball moving forward through winning the ground balls on the move at speed and playing on without breaking stride after taking a mark in the centre.
Another for Oakleigh to have no issues with the rain was Noah Answerth. The highly touted 182cm, 82kg overage midfielder was restricted to just two games in 2017 due to injury. Answerth was ultra-impressive with 22 disposals, 11 contested possessions, one goal and two score assists. His composure with ball in hand and clean ground ball winning made him stand out.
Collingwood Next Generation Academy member Isaac Quaynor set the tone down back for Oakleigh and is likely to be a draft consideration for Collingwood at season's end. The 179cm, 82kg defender gathered 19 disposals, nine contested possessions and six tackles.
Western captain Xavier O'Halloran was named Western's best in their win against Calder. The 186cm, 82kg stoppage specialist amassed 22 disposals, eight clearances, 10 inside 50s and one goal.
SANFL (practice matches)
The showings of potential No. 1 overall selection Jack Lukosius in his practice matches deserve praise. The 196cm key forward was asked to play centre-half back and dominated during the South Australian under-18 trial match, securing 25 disposals and 14 marks. Then to back up his performance, Lukosius kicked five goals for Woodville-West Torrens against Port Adelaide's league side.
It is fair to say on the back of these two performances in addition to what he achieved in 2017 that Lukosius is in the conversation for the top overall selection in 2018.
*The SANFL season begins on March 29, the WAFL and NEAFL seasons on March 30.