THERE IS not much more Jack Higgins could have done in his draft season. The Oakleigh Chargers prospect was named Vic Metro's most valuable player in its title-winning side, was picked in the under-18 All Australian side, and then claimed the Morrish Medal as the TAC Cup's best player.

It was all warranted. The small forward/midfielder pieced together an extremely productive and consistent season, on the back of a promising season last year as a bottom-ager and a standout under-16 carnival when he was named the best player in the championships.

None of it has happened by fluke. Higgins has been aiming towards an AFL career for some time, and has engaged a personal trainer, a speed coach and also a football mentor to develop his overall game and fitness.

Throughout this year he did extra touch, recovery and pilates sessions, and lived something of an AFL club's weekly program to be ready for what will come next season. He'll be ready.

Higgins finds the goals with ease. In 14 games for the Oakleigh Chargers this season he kicked 32 goals, including a haul of seven against Bendigo. He averaged one a game in the four-match Vic Metro carnival, and also chipped in with a couple in the NAB AFL Academy exhibition game earlier this season. If you're a club looking for a goalkicker, his season makes for good reading. 

This season has seen Higgins round off his game nicely, becoming more unselfish in attack and also setting teammates up regularly by hand. His skills on both feet are very good, he can mark strongly above his head and on the lead for a player his size, and he's clean at ground level.

He has also been able to step into the midfield at different stages, which was never on show more than in Vic Metro's first game of the division one carnival, when he had 30 disposals, nine marks, seven clearances and kicked two goals in a best-on-ground effort. He tends to step up when games matter most.

At 178cm there are always going to be queries about Higgins' height and whether that will stop him from having the same impact at AFL level as he's managed as an under-18. He's managed to improve his speed so that it isn't an issue, and at top pace he runs three seconds over 20m.

Due to his full-on footy mindset and dedication, some recruiters have wondered about how much growth there is left to come in his game. But he will be the type to lap up being in an AFL system and environment, which he did when he spent a week at Collingwood as part of his NAB AFL Academy program. Nathan Buckley was a big wrap for his work ethic and drive. 

Think Toby Greene. That's the type of small forward that Higgins could develop into, and he could also be like Greene and be capable of pushing into the midfield for stints early in his career. 

Higgins is an interesting one. On production and output he probably should be a top-five pick. But he seems more likely to be taken somewhere from pick No.8 to later in the first round.

Higgins is a pro already. Wherever he goes next year he seems likely to be playing a fair bit of senior footy. Of all the players in this year's pool, he's perhaps got the best footy IQ. He knows the game and loves it, and fans will enjoy watching him.