The 17-year-old South Australian will never forget cheering Hawthorn to back-to-back flags or attending the NAB AFL Draft Combine.

But not everything has worked out exactly as he wished.

With his right foot in a moon boot, Wigg's been forced to watch the combine from the sidelines, unable to test himself against his peers.

Nor has he had his father, Colin, offering support during a momentous week in his football life.

Wigg's dad fostered his love for the Hawks and AFL before he passed away from an unexpected heart attack three years ago, aged just 46.

"He was a big support," Wigg told AFL.com.au. "He was pretty involved in my sport.

"Me and Mum, we were away at the time (of his death) and he was down in Adelaide at his friend's house.

"They were about to go on a fishing trip the next day and his friend has walked out the back in the morning and he was on the ground.

"So it was pretty shocking because Mum came and told me in the morning and I just told her to go away. I didn't believe her.

"It was pretty tough; it was very unexpected."

Wigg has grown as a person and footballer since then and the North Adelaide left-footer is rated highly in this year's draft.

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He's arguably the best kick of the crop and has been compared to Hawthorn's damaging half-back Matt Suckling.

It's high praise, but there's substance to the hype.

SA went back-to-back at this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, with Wigg named his state's MVP and an All Australian defender.

"I wasn't expecting it at all but it was nice to be recognised by the coaching staff for what I'd done throughout the carnival," he said.

Wigg averaged nearly 19 disposals and used the ball at better than 79 per cent efficiency.

The 179cm backman hoped to build on his outstanding carnival at the combine.

But shortly after the championships, he woke up with pain in his right foot after a game of school footy and scans revealed a stress reaction in his third metatarsal.

Wigg was supposed to be out of the moon boot a month ago but the injury has lingered for nearly eight weeks.

"I just wanted to do all the testing to prove that I can be better than what people think. So it's a bit annoying that I can't do it," he said.

"One thing that I would like to do a lot better is the 20m sprint. I think I can do better than what I did earlier in the year. I did 3.06 - I want to get that to a three (seconds) flat."

Limited physically, Wigg has tried to make the most of the combine by soaking up as much knowledge as he can and putting his best foot forward in interviews with recruiters.

"Coming to this is a good experience, you learn a lot from people when you're over here - that's what I'm trying to do," he said.

"Since I've been a young kid it's always been a dream to play AFL footy, so hopefully that dream will come true."