WEST Perth midfielder Shane Nelson was the standout performer at the WA 2012 NAB AFL Combine on Sunday, boosting his draft chances one year after surprisingly being overlooked.
It was expected Nelson would be recruited in the second round of the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, but an illness suffered on the eve of last year's combine saw him lose 7kg, limiting his involvement in the testing.
He was passed over, despite a near perfect score of 29 out of 30 in the Nathan Buckley kicking test, and played the majority of his football this year with West Perth in the WAFL, averaging 25 disposals.
On Sunday, the hard-running midfielder posted outstanding times in the 20m sprint (2.82sec), agility test (7.85sec) and repeat sprints (24.31sec) to remind recruiters of his credentials.
His 20m sprint time was the second quickest recorded around the country this year, just shy of the 2.81sec recorded by Calder Cannons speedster Adam Saad at the national combine.
AFL National Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan said recruiters were likely to reassess their view ofNelson ahead of the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, which will be held on the Gold Coast on November 22.
"They'll go back and look at his tapes and form a view … sometimes you just have to keep presenting," Sheehan said.
"Nelson's [combine performance] just reminds people that he's got some special assets.
"It's all about finding an x-factor; what's their trick, what can they do better than others?
"He gets plenty of the footy and athletically he's very good."
Max Duffy, who kicked 33.32 in 15 games with East Fremantle this season, displayed an impressive combination of speed and endurance at the screening.
The mercurial forward ran a 2.94sec 20m sprint and a 14.2 beep test. After being part of the 2010 AIS-AFL Academy, Duffy fell off the radar in 2011 but has resurfaced this year as a draft prospect.
East Fremantle colts ruckman Mack Byron-Pendergast, 18, recorded an impressive standing vertical jump (80cm) and running vertical jump (87cm) but is a raw prospect, weighing 92kg and standing 205cm.
Mature-age forward Ben Saunders, who won the Bernie Naylor Medal as the WAFL's leading goalkicker this season with 65 goals, also tested on Sunday.
With Claremont forward Tom Lee already making his way to St Kilda via the GWS pre-listed rules, Sheehan said WA's mature-age talent was impressive.
However, there are concerns the 2012 NAB AFL Draft could be one of WA's poorest, with the AFL, WA Football Commission, Fremantle and West Coast meeting tonight to address the issue.
Sheehan, who will be part of the discussions, along with West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett and Fremantle recruiters Neil Ross and Adam Jones, said the review was done every year.
Elite WA youngsters Jaeger O'Meara, Jack Martin and Jesse Hogan have all been drafted 12 months ahead of schedule through the GWS mini draft, leaving the State facing the possibility of having just one player picked in the top 20 of next month's NAB AFL Draft.
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
