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POSSIBLE No.1 draft pick Hugh McCluggage admits he is still pinching himself at the prospect of being the highest-selected player in this year's NAB AFL Draft.
The smooth-moving midfielder was one of the most consistent performers at under-age level across the season, winning the TAC Cup's Morrish Medal, Vic Country's MVP award and being named an Under-18 All Australian after a stellar national carnival.
McCluggage also recently starred in the Under-18 All Stars match, booting four goals and racking up 17 classy touches.
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"It's a bit of a shock and it's happened really quickly," McCluggage said when fronting the media at the NAB AFL Draft Combine at Etihad Stadium on Friday.
"At the start of the year I was just hoping to play consistent footy for North Ballarat and then I was lucky enough to get into the Vic (Country) side… so I just tried to play as well as I could for every team that I played for."
McCluggage's consistency across the season, in particular a blazing end to the year, has allowed him to set himself apart from many of his contemporaries.
The South Warrnambool product averaged 29 disposals and kicked 23 goals in the home and away season for North Ballarat.
He is clean with the footy in hand, takes the game on at regular intervals and has an innate ability to hit the scoreboard from the midfield.
Brisbane Lions list manager Peter Schwab said he would be ecstatic if McCluggage were to slip through to the club's pick (No.2 overall) in the draft.
"He's a talented player. He can play in the midfield, can go forward and kick goals and is a nicely balanced player," Schwab said of McCluggage.
"He just knows how to play. The first thing you look at, with any game of football, is what’s the talent (level)? He’s a high-end talent. He certainly possesses that aspect."
Another player to possess similar traits in being able to play forward and midfield is the dynamic Ben Ainsworth.
Ainsworth spent much of the first half of the season playing up forward for the Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup and for Vic Country in the National Championships.
But the 179cm draft prospect eventually graduated into the midfield as the season went on, and he said AFL clubs will be looking for him to play both roles when he ends up on an AFL list next season.
"I've spoken about this with a few AFL clubs and it's finding that 50-50 balance," Ainsworth said.
"You can't just be a one-position player at AFL level now, so it's about being a utility."
A mid-year suspension, which saw him serve a four-game ban, and wrist and knee injuries limited his impact at the start of the season, but Ainsworth said he felt he was able to find his feet in the back half of the year.
Gold Coast academy prospect Jack Bowes has not yet had an indication from the Suns about whether they will select him under the academy bidding system, but does not mind where he winds up.
Opposition clubs will have their chance to bid on Bowes – possibly inside the top five picks in the draft – to force Gold Coast to match the bid for the high-quality midfield prospect.
"That's part of the AFL now. Looking at a few of the Academy boys that got picked up last year, I think they handled it well and I'm sure I'll be able to handle it fairly well this year."
