DIVISION ONE of the 2007 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships kicked off in Perth and Adelaide last weekend. During the matches, afl.com.au had exclusive access to one AFL club's recruiting department.

Western Australia performed brilliantly with a 47-point upset win over Vic Metro at Subiaco Oval on Saturday, while South Australia easily accounted for Vic Country at AAMI Stadium on Sunday. 

Throughout the matches, we got an insight into the club's recruiting process and their thoughts on the best prospects for the draft.

First we'll look at the WA v Vic Metro match. We'll refer to the two recruiting staff simply as "Recruiter 1" and "Recruiter 2". Check back later for the club's assessments of SA v Vic Country.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Chris Masten
Recruiter 1: I was pleased with Chris Masten’s game today. He was busy from the first contest while also being quite creative. Chris didn't just win the ball and clear the contest, he also brought other players into the game through his clean disposal. He worked at the same pace throughout the match, displaying real consistency across four quarters.

Recruiter 2: Chris played a very good game. He was quite elusive and has excellent skills on both sides of his body. I was impressed that he found so much of the ball against good opposition.

Rhys Palmer
Recruiter 1: Rhys performed extremely well. He was hard at the contest and led by example from the first bounce. He actually seemed to enjoy the contest, which was a positive sign. While he has a very good left foot, it was his overall work-rate and commitment that stood out today.

Recruiter 2: In simple terms, Palmer was a ball magnet. He basically attracts the ball and worked really hard at stoppages around the ground despite attention from several opponents.

Jarrhan Jacky
Recruiter 1: Jarrhan played a very good game. He probably played above what our pre-championship expectations were of him. We knew he that had good skills, but the fact he was able to maintain them over a full game – and not just play well for four or five minutes per quarter – was particularly pleasing.

Recruiter 2: Jacky proved to be an elusive forward for Western Australia. He kicked the ball nicely and regularly found space inside forward 50m. A good game from him today.

Daniel Rich
Recruiter 1: Although he is ineligible for the national draft in 2007, he will no doubt be a player who will attract interest leading into next year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. He's a very similar player to Rhys Palmer – they both enjoy contested situations. He's naturally aggressive and brings other players into the game. He led by example today.

Recruiter 2: He's got some similarities to Palmer and continually wins the ball in a contested situation. I really like the way that he goes about his football and thought that he had an outstanding game.

Patrick McGinnity
Recruiter 1: He was hard at-it and played in a similar vein to the traditional Victoria Metro midfielder. He refuses to give-up the ball with any ease. While he is not the flashiest player going around, he definitely has the level of commitment required for us to follow him in future matches

Recruiter 2: An impressive type of player who was in and under at most opportunities. He rarely lost a one-on-one contest – a player who like Rhys Palmer, set the tempo for Western Australia.

Chris Yarran
Recruiter 1: While still ineligible for this year's draft, he is a very talented player. He has very good kicking skills and proved to be a very dangerous forward at all times. No doubt, he will be a player to watch in 2008.

Tayte Pears
Recruiter 1: Pears was particularly good overhead in a marking contest. He appears to be a very laid back player, but was good across the whole game. He negated his opposition extremely well and provided rebound from defence on a number of occasions.

Recruiter 2: An unobtrusive type of player who was worth noting and showed a genuine commitment to his role in defence.

Alex Rance
Recruiter 1: A rangy type who can play on both taller or shorter opponents. He was quite competitive and impressed me with his athleticism and ability to run off his opponent. There appears to be some scope for improvement with his decision-making ability.

Recruiter 2: Alex Rance was very steady in defence – he seemed to be the cornerstone of Western Australia’s backline.

Cale Morton
Recruiter 1: The brother of Mitch and Jarryd Morton, who are already AFL listed players, which means that he will probably get more attention than other players. Having said that, he played really well today – his apparent lack of body strength was not really evident.

Recruiter 2: I was quite impressed by Cale Morton today. He played up the wing and in both attack and defence. He seemed to be a good kick and was clearly among Western Australia’s best players in this match.

Nicholas Naitanui
Recruiter 1: Nick has outstanding athleticism and although he still has some things to learn about the actual game, he is very much a player to watch in 2008 (he is ineligible for the national draft in 2007). Naitanui covers the ground easily and when he knows how to better play four quarters, he will be a genuine talent.

VIC METRO
Matthew Kreuzer
Recruiter 1: I was quite pleased with Kruezer today because I thought he was one of the few players in the Victoria Metro team that played up to his ability. He runs hard around the ground for a big man and contests well– he is a genuine player of the future.

Recruiter 2: I thought that he battled hard throughout the game despite little support from his teammates. He was one of the few Victoria Metro players who didn’t do himself any disservice in this match.

Addam Maric
Recruiter 1: Addam performed very well against the odds. He played up to his ability although we would like to see him play more regularly through the midfield. He has good kicking skills and his kicking efficiency is excellent. He only needs limited possessions to have an impact on the scoreboard.

Recruiter 2: He continually finds the ball and was one of Victoria Metro's few players to make an impact on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, he went off with a shoulder injury late in the game. I hope he recovers for the next match.

James Polkinghorne
Recruiter 1: He didn't quite have the impact that we probably thought he would have. He has been one of the more consistent performers in Victoria this year and that's why we thought he would have been a better performer in this match.

Recruiter 2: He was in and out of the contest quite a bit. While he worked hard in the centre square, he had his effectiveness limited through poor support from his teammates. He laid some good tackles but wasn't quite as dominant as we had probably expected.

Jack Grimes
Recruiter 1: Jack Grimes played quite well - he certainly led by example as captain. Both he and his Northern Knights teammate, Matthew Kreuzer, would be able to say that they applied themselves in the manner that you expect at this level. He read the play well and chipped in with two goals. Overall, we were satisfied with his contribution to the game.

Recruiter 2: Grimes had an impact at various times during the game, so it was good to see him play well at this level. It was a pity that some of his teammates didn’t follow his example.

Trent Cotchin
Recruiter 1: Trent Cotchin has had a lot of pre-championship publicity, but there was no doubt that he was disappointing in this match. We would've expected him to start the match much better than he did – it was quite surprising that he started out of the centre square and only had limited time playing on the ball. This was a game that he will want to put behind him – I have no doubt he'll play much better in the next two matches.

Recruiter 2: Cotchin had a game that he would probably rather forget. There isn’t much that you could say about his performance today that resembled his form leading into the championships. Let’s just reserve our assessment until after next week.

To read the rest of our 2007 NAB AFL under 18 championships coverage, click here.