AFL Talent Ambassador Kevin Sheehan has identified one player who he believes will be a draft bolter in 2023.
As the draft looms closer, a lot of the talk in AFL circles starts to point towards the end of November when the fates of many budding youngsters will be known.
There are always players who move up the rankings late in the piece and experienced draft guru Sheehan has found one with excellent speed and endurance attributes.
Sheehan is a big fan of Sandringham Dragons midfielder Charlie Edwards who he believes AFL clubs could move on earlier than was first forecast.
“A kid like Charlie Edwards is there,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“He is a kid who has emerged in the last seven weeks of the year. He’s got some wheels.
“Even in the endurance, he won his heat of the 2km. It might have been about a 6 minutes 20 or so. If someone had have been up with him, because he was way out in front, he could get up to about 6 minutes 10 which is very, very elite. So he’s got that speed/endurance combination at 190cm.
“So he’s your draft bolter that wasn’t even in the main combine in the 65, no doubt.”
Edwards is a Bendigo native who has been boarding at Melbourne Grammar and impressed for the Dragons in 2023.
After keeping a close eye on the AFL Draft Combine over the weekend, Sheehan was also taken by the attributes of Western Australian youngster Aiden O’Driscoll
The younger brother of Fremantle’s Nathan turned heads with his running power and is one whose draft combine exploits could elevate him up the draft boards of AFL clubs.
“I think that boy is Aiden O’Driscoll,” Sheehan added on AFL Trade Radio when asked about the key combine performers.
“It’s pretty obvious this one because he tested the quickest. 2.8 seconds (for the 20-metre sprint) is super elite.
“He was right up there in the top five in the 2km. So it’s a wonderful combination to have, the elite speed and the endurance to go with it.
“He’s the boy that can get up and down the ground on a wing, he can play as a small forward. I’d see him as a wingman of the future with that very elite running ability.
“He’s the one that really jumped up with that combination.”
O’Driscoll strutted his stuff for Perth in the WAFL Colts this year and was a key contributor for the WA state team in the National Championships.
The 2023 AFL Draft takes place across November 20 and 21.