THE NAB AFL Draft Camp is the final chance hopefuls have to impress the 150-strong horde of recruiters and coaches that converge on Canberra each year.

For some prospective draftees, their results at the camp will dictate whether they get selected in November.

But for a handful of other AFL aspirants, the three-day trip to the Australian Institute of Sport is spent nervously hoping they’ve already done enough to convince a club to pick them.

Eighteen-year-old Vic Metro midfielder David Zaharakis is one player feeling the toll of a hectic 2008 season.

Zaharakis starred in the under-18 championships earlier this year and earned All-Australian selection, before he was struck down by glandular fever.

Last year the prolific ball winner, who was overlooked at the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, registered 2.94 in the blue-ribbon 20m sprint event – just outside outside Port Adelaide speedster Danyle Pearce’s record time of 2.79 set in 2004.

This year Zaharakis will join fancies like Hamish Hartlett and Jackson Trengrove on the sidelines, restricted to impressing would-be suitors off the track.

"I was diagnosed with glandular fever two weeks ago and the blood test suggested I’d had it for at least two weeks, so I’ve had it for a month or so now," Zaharakis said on Wednesday.

"I had it for the last game of the year and, if we’d made the finals in the TAC Cup, I wouldn’t have been playing.

"I’m not doing any physical testing because of it. Everyone is saying to me, 'You’re lucky you’re not doing the tests', but I actually wanted to do them to see where I'm at.

"I guess I’ll stand around, get interviewed all week and try and impress that way."

The life-long Essendon supporter had already spoken with Richmond before lunchtime on day one and, like most draftees, had more interviews scheduled well into the evening.

"The interviews are a bit intimidating because there are six or seven guys with their eyes all fixed on you and you’ve got to answer a question while they make notes, record your voice what you’re saying and videotape you," he said.

"I’d like to know what they write. It’s a good experience though and I guess you’d rather the clubs want to talk to you than not."

Zaharakis put in five consistent performances across the under-18s carnival and, despite being one of the smallest players at this year’s camp (180cm, 73kg) was hopeful of joining an AFL club next year.

"I don’t care where I go- I just want to play AFL," he said.

"Firstly, I want to enjoy this week. You can’t just let the experience go by, you have to enjoy it and then we’ll see what happens in November."