THE FIRST day of the NAB AFL Draft Combine in Canberra saw attendees have a crack at Nic Naitanui’s standing vertical jump record, but the spring-heeled Eagle’s two-year old mark remains.

Naitanui recorded a standing leap of 78cm in 2008 with Eastern Ranges’ midfielder Brad Harvey the closest this year with an impressive 75cm effort.

That’s no mean feat for Harvey who, at 184cm, is significantly smaller than the 201cm West Coast ruckman.

The testing is relative to each player’s height, but historically the bigger blokes have done better in this category as evidenced by long-time record holder Trent Croad and last year’s standout, Adelaide ruckman James Craig, who at 195cm registered a 76cm leap.

Harvey finished well out in front of second placegetters Nathan Batley, of SA club Woodville-West Torrens, and Claremont’s Anton Hamp who each recorded a 71cm jump.  

Morrish Medal winner and Vic Country most valuable player, Dyson Heppell, recorded a 64cm leap, as did highly-rated Murray Bushrangers’ midfielder Shaun Atley.

The standing vertical jump was the only test of note carried out on the first day of the combine which is typically focused more on height and weight measurements and club interviews.

Standing vertical jump top 10
PositionAttendeeResult
1stBrad Harvey75cm
=2ndNathan Batley71cm
=2ndAnton Hamp71cm
4thJoel Wilkinson66cm
=5thKieran Harper65cm
=5thCameron Gutherie65cm
=7thShaun Atley64cm
=7thDyson Heppell64cm
=9thSeb Tape63cm
=9thBillie Smedts63cm