EXCITING talent Dougie Cochrane will miss the Marsh AFL Under-18 National Championships after suffering a hamstring injury last week.

The 2026 prospect, who is considered a No.1 pick contender for next year's draft pool, went down with a hamstring tendon injury last week while training at state level with South Australia.

He is expected to miss around 12 weeks with the injury, with his club Central District keen for him to take his time with the injury without rushing a return.

"We just want him to be OK, that's the priority at the moment," said Central talent manager Scott Stevens. "That's our No.1 priority. A timeline on when he'll be back isn't the focus."

Cochrane would have had plenty of eyes on him as a bottom-ager in the under-18 carnival after being named the best player in last year's under-16 championships for South Australia.

The younger brother of Port Adelaide rookie Tom and son of former Port and North Melbourne player Stuart had a scintillating start to the season playing with Central's under-18 side, including a standout six-goal game from 20 disposals. 

The 17-year-old has been in the spotlight already as clubs await an AFL ruling on his Next Generation Academy status with Port Adelaide ahead of next year's draft intake.

AFL.com.au revealed last month there had been a significant step in that process after Cochrane had been invited to be in the AFL's National Indigenous Academy. 

Stuart last year wrote to the AFL regarding his exploring of his Indigenous background and to see if his sons could join the Power's academy program, having had a later discovery of Indigenous lineage. That process is understood to have recently been ascertained in regards to his heritage. 

If approved by the League, that would open the door for Port to have access to Cochrane if his metropolitan region was included within their region as the AFL's ongoing review into NGA zoning continues.