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Promising South Australian Hamish Hartlett

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In his role as the AFL's youth and high performance coordinator Jason McCartney has worked extensively with the elite footballing talent eligible for the 2008 NAB AFL Draft.

Speaking exclusively to afl.com.au McCartney offers a rare insight into some of this year's draft hopefuls.

JM: Dayne was extremely good for Queensland in division two of the under-18 championships. He just kept winning the footy and he runs the lines well. Dayne could easily play a few AFL games next year because he's had a year or so of senior footy at AFLQ level.

He chose not to go with the Gold Coast franchise because he is a bit more mature than some of the guys who did sign with them and he perhaps would have done himself out of some senior experience waiting for 2011.

I'm not sure whether he'll be a star in your team, but he's one of those guys who will be a real solid contributor on a regular basis.

JM: When you look at sheer talent alone, Hamish is probably in the top three or four in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft; he has exquisite skills and balance.

In South Australia's first game against Tasmania at the Adelaide Oval I remember the ball being loose at half-forward and, with opposition players around him, he somehow reached in and grabbed it away from two Tassie players, did a blind turn and nailed the goal from 50m off two steps.

It was actually a bit frustrating watching him in those first two games of the championships because everything he did was quality, but he just wasn't getting enough of the ball. It was no coincidence that when SA did better later in the tournament, Hamish had two really good games.

He's very laid back and he's a great kid, but he's just needs … to be a little bit more meticulous in his preparation. He's a super talent though; he's a ripper and he'll be a great pick-up for someone.

JM: Along with Stephen Hill and Ryan Schoenmakers, Mitch really jumped out for me at this year's championships. He won the medal for best player in division two and then stepped up into division one and kept playing the same sort of football.

He carried the ball extremely well, took the game on and any time he got the ball he'd do something good with it. He's got great penetration on his kicks and he would have averaged in the high 20's for possessions in every game. Mitch was a real standout – there's no doubt about that – and he ended up being named All-Australian.

The good kids in division two, sometimes there's a bit of a question over how they would handle the better quality opposition, but Mitch – and most of his teammates for that matter – played well in division one after they qualified. Click here to watch Mitch Robinson in action.

JM: Jack Ziebell is potentially an AFL captain. He was in our AIS/AFL Academy this year and he was one of the five nominated leaders of the group. He doesn't say a lot around the place, but when he's on the track or on the field he leads by his actions and he gives great direction and is very instructional.

Jack won the Ben Mitchell Medal at the academy which is voted on by the 30 scholarship holders [based on a core set of values and key qualities] and he won it with 34 votes and the next best was 17.

A game that stands out for me was for the AIS team in Perth after we'd just flown back from South Africa the day before. It's a bit of a test for the boys with the travel and the changing time zones and it was pouring rain as well.

We played West Perth and Jack was one of the standouts. He isn't the quickest player, but he reads the play extremely well, he's great around stoppages, he's a good kick and he sees the game so well. That day when guys were falling over left, right and centre, he was strong at the footy didn't get knocked off the ball and showed outstanding leadership.

He marks going back into packs, he smothers, tackles – the whole package – and he just reeks of leadership. Click here to watch Jack Ziebell in action.

JM: Matty chose not to nominate for the draft last year and he just accumulates lots of the footy. He probably lacked a bit of penetration in his kicking early on, but he's got a great attitude and he's worked his backside off to address that. I think it's a good sign when you've got a guy who is willing to do some hard work to make a change.

Matt has a high work-rate on the field, has really good endurance and is really good at the clearances; he's just constantly winning the footy.

JM: Tommy will be a really interesting one come draft day because he was in our AIS/AFL Academy last year and Daniel Rich was in that side at the time and I believe there wasn't much difference between the two of them.

What happened with Tom though was he did his knee in our first game in Perth on the way to South Africa and spent 12 months off in rehab. Coming back this year he had a setback with his opposite knee, not an ACL, but it saw him miss the under-18 championships.

He's a super intelligent kid and didn't miss a session in his rehab; he's very diligent in his preparation and has a high work ethic. So when he came to Draft Camp his speed was good and his beep test was good as well.

He didn't end up playing, not because of the knee, but he's 192 cm now and he's had some growing pains with that. He's virtually missed nearly two years of footy, but I think he might surprise a few people with how high he gets taken.

Tom sets really high standards for himself and he just wants to achieve.

JM: I don't think there would be many players who have gone into the draft in recent times being a dual-premiership player at senior level. Daniel was in our academy last year and he's been All-Australian for two years.

It was interesting to watch Daniel in the under-18 championships this year. Last year he was part of a gun midfield with Chris Masten, Rhys Palmer and those guys, but this time he was a target for the opposition and he probably struggled to come to terms with it early.

He worked away at it though and he's got a left foot which is just so penetrating. If he gets his hands on it at a centre clearance he's putting it 20m out from goal lace out; it's just a thumping left foot.

Nathan Buckley hadn't seen a lot of Daniel before the final of the championships in Melbourne, but at one point he just looked at me and gave me the nod of approval which I think says a lot.

It will be great for him to get into an AFL environment now because there are some areas of his game that will really benefit. He's a terrific kid and he's obviously been touted in that top three or four pick area and he'll be a really good player for a long time.