HARRY O'Farrell has always wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

Initially, that dream might have involved working in the law industry. His dad, Peter, has spent more than two decades plying his trade as a highly successful barrister in a variety of fields. But, later this year, he's more hopeful that goal culminates in saving the day for Carlton.

The O'Farrell name is a familiar one for the Blues. Peter, Harry's father, represented Carlton captain Patrick Cripps during his 2022 hearing at the AFL Appeals Board, where he was able to overturn a two-match rough conduct ban that enabled Cripps to be eligible for that season's Brownlow Medal, which he won later in the year.

"He's had some success," O'Farrell smiled.

"Yeah … it was pretty good to see 'Crippa' win the Brownlow that season."

For the Carlton-mad O'Farrell, who lists Cripps' 38-disposal and four-goal performance against Brisbane back in 2019 as his favourite footy memory, his dad's efforts also inspired a growing passion for law.

It's unlikely O'Farrell will have to think about a career in the law industry any time soon, though. At 196cm, the Calder Cannons youngster is one of this draft's best key defensive prospects. But he's combined his football with his studies throughout the season, and already has an eye on his post-football options.

"I'm hoping to get into something in the law space," O'Farrell told AFL.com.au.

"Dad normally does town planning. I'm not really sure how he got into the football side of it. He started at Hawthorn and did a bit of stuff at Melbourne as well. I think one of his mates that works with him was already in it and they got him into it. He came over to Carlton and stopped doing the other clubs.

"But, yeah, I'm interested in law as well. I reckon I'll study it as well. I'm not too sure what type of law. I've sat in on a few cases that dad's done, but they have all been pretty boring. So, I'll see."

It's not something O'Farrell will have to consider for some time, thankfully. Despite a season plagued by rotten luck on the injury front, recruiters still view the rangy defender among the best key-position prospects in this year's pool. Unfortunately, they just haven't been able to see his talents on show much this season.

After starting the season strongly, O'Farrell injured his ankle in the first five minutes of Vic Metro's clash with Western Australia back in June. He missed two months, made his return, then got concussed within the opening seconds of his next fixture. It put a premature end to his year.

"That first week was pretty hard, especially seeing the boys win the national championships and not being out there. It was a bit brutal. But you move on pretty quickly and get your rehab done and get back," O'Farrell said.

"I've never really had any significant injuries. The ankle was probably the first one I've had. It was different to get through that, but I had some good support. Seeing how rehab is meant to go and how it's still high intensity doing that … you've just got to be ready to go into that rehab and put in the work to keep going.

"And then I got back and in my second game back, I had the concussion. It was my first concussion ever. I woke up and I knew that I was done. I saw the fixture ahead and I knew it would be pretty hard to get back."

The concussion blow was a brutal one for O'Farrell, given the AFL's new 21-day protocol rules for community football that were introduced this year. The extended absence ended his season, right when things were starting to look positive again.

Clubs had seen O'Farrell's talents during a bright start to the season with both the Calder Cannons and St Kevin's College at APS level and were desperate to see more. It unfortunately wouldn't be the case, though his upside remains clear.

"He's a great ball user out of the backline, but he also goes for his marks to intercept and win the ball back for his team, Calder Cannons talent manager Seb Spagnuolo told AFL.com.au.

"He gets offence off the back of that. At his height, at 196cm or 197cm, he's someone that can play a bit of a rebounding role for his height as well. We thought he could rebound. But because of the injuries, he wasn't really able to show it.

"However, we got to see it a little bit at training and it looked pretty exciting when he goes. Moving forward and projecting forward, we don't have any doubt that he could do that at the next level."

O'Farrell also has versatility to his game, something he was able to showcase despite only making a select few appearances this season. Played in the forward line in a comeback clash against the Dandenong Stingrays following his ankle injury, he finished with 2.4 goals and displayed plenty of promise.

"The plan from a long way out was that when he came back from school footy, we would give him an opportunity to play as a forward. He was 100 per cent all-in on that," Spagnuolo said.

"He wanted to show that he could play at both ends. He wanted to show AFL clubs that he could do that. We think that his long-term role is as a key defender. But to give him the opportunity, we chose that game as his comeback game.

"He actually did get some opportunities. He had seven scoring shots, he got his hands on it, he presented well, he's someone that defenders had to put some time into because he reads the ball so well in the air and he goes for his marks."

O'Farrell is now right in the sights of clubs hungry for key defensive support, of which Carlton is right among them. The Blues are also due to pick at No.38 in this year's pool, seen by rival recruiters as being right in O'Farrell's range as a likely second-round selection. So, could the stars align?

"It would mean everything," O'Farrell said.

"Obviously, growing up and playing footy, you're always thinking about it. I never thought I was going to get to the AFL until probably a few years ago. I started thinking it could happen if I put the work in. It would be pretty special."