TALENTED key position prospect Jarrod Brander is open-minded about his unique draft situation as the AFL weighs up his eligibility in Greater Western Sydney's academy.

Brander is viewed as one of the top players in this year's draft pool, but the League has been considering his status as a member of the Giants' zone for several months due to geography queries. 

The 17-year-old tall forward/defender's family owns a farm in Wentworth, a small town in New South Wales close to the South Australian border. That falls within the Giants' zone, but the family also has a property in Mildura, outside of their catchment.

The AFL was expected to make a call by the end of last season but is yet to inform the Giants about whether Brander will be tied to the club or be available in the open draft. 

The Bendigo Pioneers product starts his draft season unsure of where the decision-making process is placed, but says he is comfortable whichever way the AFL rules.  

"I've had no indication on which way they're going to go. I thought they were going to make a decision a long time ago but it's drawn out a bit, so we'll see how it goes," Brander told AFL.com.au at the NAB AFL Academy's training camp in Florida.

"It's different. It would probably be a worse situation if I was more involved in the academy and I wasn't down at school, but I'm not too worried about it. I have no preference either way really, whether I am able to go to the Giants and they want me, or if I'm not." 

Brander has been a part of the Giants academy since he was 12, but has had limited dealings with the program after moving to board at Geelong Grammar in 2015. He played one game for the Giants in the NEAFL last season. 

Last year the Giants lost access to academy prospect Todd Marshall, who was deemed ineligible for the club due to a "registration" issue.

The Giants will be desperate for the same situation to not occur with Brander who, at 195cm and 89kg, has already shown himself to be one of the most highly rated players in the 2017 crop. 

Brander gave away a promising cricket career – he used to bowl at nearly 130 km per hour – to focus on his football and can play at both ends of the ground. 

"I played basically all of my juniors as a forward and really enjoyed that, but later last year I played at centre-half back and that was good as well," he said. "I think it's much easier to read the play back there." 

Brander is one of an impressive group of taller types available in this year's draft after midfielders and smaller prospects dominated the top end of the 2016 intake. 

The NAB AFL Academy squad, which is training at the world-class facilities of the IMG Academy in America this week, features 14 players standing more than 190cm.