THE NORTHERN academies started to bear fruit at last year's NAB AFL Draft, and it's set to continue in 2015.
While Isaac Heeney took the spotlight with his selection by the Sydney Swans at No.18, he was just the tip of the iceberg.
In total seven players were taken by their host clubs, including second-rounders Jack Steele (GWS) and Jack Hiscox (Swans).
Dougal Howard and Logan Austin were also selected by Port Adelaide after being part of the Giants' academy.
With Matthew Hammelman (Brisbane Lions) and Jordan Foote (Swans) snapped up in the rookie draft, that made 11 new NSW and Queensland products on AFL lists for the coming season.
And there promises to be more based on the current crop.
Swans academy product Callum Mills has been touted as the best player of this year's draft pool, with the ball-winning ability of the rugged midfielder a standout feature.
Wherever the Swans finish this season, and whatever comes of the proposed changes to the academy bidding process, you can be assured Mills will be wearing red and white in 2016.
The Giants have a number of talented players in their ranks, and might have some decisions to make on matching rival offers at the end of the season.
Perhaps the highest regarded of these is AIS Academy player Jacob Hopper.
Despite knee surgery last year, the Riverina product is tough, composed, and predicted to be in the top batch of talent.
Then there's Dylan McDonald.
Another AIS member, McDonald is light-bodied, but a hard worker who turned heads on the recent trip to the United States where he won the 3km time trial.
Another Giant in the mix is versatile tall Jock Cornell – who is related to the Danihers – and can play at either end of the ground.
Jock Cornell has impressed as a member of GWS' academy. Picture: AFL Media
Giants' academy manager Jason Saddington said on the back of watching two players from their academy go elsewhere last year, the club was starting to do its job.
"You can't take all of them," he said.
"If we're producing enough that there's a surplus, that's fantastic. If we're just producing for the Giants, we're not doing our job.
"We just want to get them playing AFL."
Talent is a little thinner in Queensland, but it's there.
Lions' left footer Ben Keays is a clever midfielder who just knows how to find the footy.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Keays is now well and truly a Queenslander and was named an under-age All Australian in 2014 and is tipped to be a second round selection.
They also have Eric Hipwood, a raw, tall forward who can kick goals, and was the last player added to the AFL Academy after strong form in the middle of the year.
That's a handful of names you can expect from this year's crop, but it looks like another year of boosting the number of Queensland and NSW players into the league.
Swans academy talent and operations manager Chris Smith said smart clubs like Fremantle and Geelong were now putting extra time into scouting the academies.
"The new frontier is the northern states," Smith said.
