A TRIO of father-son prospects for the 2018 draft headline the latest level one NAB AFL Academy squad, which was named on Wednesday.
Nick Blakey (the son of John), Bailey Scott (Robert) and Rhylee West (Scott) have been selected in the prestigious level one group, which features 26 players eligible for the draft in two years.
It is the 20th intake of the national academy, with the AFL celebrating the milestone by naming its '20 in 20' and '2020' all-star academy teams.
Blakey and Scott are in the rare position of being eligible to join three different clubs through the father-son and academy rules.
The Brisbane Lions and Kangaroos can select Blakey as a father-son, but he will also qualify as a Sydney Swans academy player given he has lived in the region for more than five years while his father John has been an assistant coach with the Swans.
Robert Scott's career at North Melbourne and Geelong means both clubs will have access to Bailey as a father-son, as will Gold Coast with Scott an academy player from that zone.
Matters are more straightforward for West, who will be monitored closely by the Western Bulldogs after an impressive NAB AFL Under-16 Championships for Vic Metro saw the midfielder selected in the academy.
He has been joined in the level one group by Victorian key position twins Max and Ben King, while Ian Hill, an exciting West Australian related to AFL brothers Stephen and Bradley, has also been picked.
Nick Blakey is potentially available to three clubs. Picture: sydneyswans.com.au/Keith McInnes
The AFL's talent department also named its level two squad, which features players eligible for next year's draft.
It has added five new players from last year's level one group, including Vic Metro ruckman Sam Hayes and Vic Country midfielder James Worpel. Both performed strongly at the mid-year under-18 national carnival.
Richmond father-son candidate Patrick Naish has been selected in the level two group, alongside possible early picks Hunter Clark, Jarrod Brander and Connor Ballenden.
The League will mark the 20th intake of the academy by naming its '20 in 20' side of academy graduates, selected with input from past and present academy head coaches and long-time national talent manager Kevin Sheehan.
The team was selected from a list of 100 players (listed below), with six defenders, six forwards, five midfielders, a ruckman and two players on the interchange bench.
The 100 features eight current or past club captains. Readers can have their say on who should be named skipper of the team.
The selectors were also tasked with picking a separate '2020' academy team, with players only eligible if they were drafted in the past four years.
The '2020' team is a look to the future, with selectors choosing the squad they believe will be the star players of the competition in four years. They drew from a list of 50 names to fill that team.
AFL.com.au will have full details in coming weeks about the all-star teams, with the line-ups to be released exclusively on the website.
LEVEL TWO NAB AFL ACADEMY (draft-eligible 2017)
Vic Country: Tyrone Hayes, Aaron Darling, Kane Farrell, Aidan Quigley, Lochie O'Brien, Hunter Clark, Luke Davies-Uniake, Oscar Clavarino, James Worpel, Tom De Koning
Vic Metro: Jack Higgins, Lachlan Fogarty, Patrick Naish, Joel Garner, Jaidyn Stephenson, Sam Hayes
South Australia: Jordan Houlahan, Darcy Fogarty, Thomas Schmusch, Callum Coleman-Jones, Andrew McPherson
Western Australia: Jake Patmore
NSW-ACT: Charlie Spargo, Jack Powell, Jarrod Brander, Nathan Richards
Queensland: Jack Clayton, Connor Ballenden, Brayden Crossley
Northern Territory: Dominic Grant
LEVEL ONE NAB AFL ACADEMY (draft-eligible 2018)
NSW-ACT: Matthew Walker, Nick Blakey
Queensland: Bailey Scott
Tasmania: Chance Jones, Tarryn Thomas
Northern Territory: Michael Mummery
Western Australia: Ian Hill, Tom Joyce, Sydney Stack, Jason Carter
Vic Country: Sam Walsh, Zane Barzen, Jye Caldwell, Sam Fletcher, Hudson Garoni
Vic Metro: Rhylee West, Jack Bytel, Max King, Ben King
South Australia: Izak Rankine, Connor Rozee, Jackson Hately, Jack Lukosius, Hugo Munn, Ruben Flinn, Luke Valente
CONTENDERS FOR THE NAB AFL ACADEMY '20 in 20' TEAM
Defenders: Ben Reid, Brady Rawlings, Brendon Goddard, Brent Guerra, Brodie Smith, Callum Mills, Eric Mackenzie, Grant Birchall, Heath Grundy, Jackson Trengove, Jacob Weitering, Jake Lever, Jarrad McVeigh, Joel Corey, Lachie Henderson, Leigh Brown, Lewis Roberts-Thompson, Luke Hodge, Mark McVeigh, Michael Hurley, Sam Butler, Shannon Hurn, Shaun Atley, Shaun Burgoyne, Steven May, Troy Chaplin, Xavier Clarke
Midfielders: Adam Cooney, Adam Treloar, Andrew Embley, Andrew Gaff, Andrew Swallow, Angus Brayshaw, Brad Ebert, Brent Stanton, Brett Deledio, Bryce Gibbs, Cameron Ling, Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr, Daniel Rich, Daniel Wells, David Armitage, David Swallow, Dom Sheed, Dylan Shiel, Jack Viney, Jack Ziebell, Jacob Hopper, Jaeger O'Meara, Joel Selwood, Josh Kelly, Kane Cornes, Lachie Whitfield, Luke Ball, Marc Murphy, Marcus Bontempelli, Mitch Duncan, Nick Dal Santo, Ollie Wines, Patrick Dangerfield, Ryan Griffen, Scott Thompson, Steele Sidebottom, Tom Scully, Travis Boak, Trent Cotchin
Forwards: Adam Schneider, Alan Didak, Andrew Walker, Angus Monfries, Chad Wingard, Cyril Rioli, Darcy Parish, Des Headland, Isaac Heeney, Jack Darling, Jack Watts, Jake Stringer, Jarryd Roughead, Jay Schulz, Jeremy Cameron, Jesse Hogan, Joe Daniher, Josh Kennedy (WCE/Carl), Josh Schache, Lance Franklin, Lewis Taylor, Luke Parker, Mathew Stokes, Michael Walters, Tom Hawkins, Tom Lynch (StK/Adel), Travis Varcoe
Rucks: Ben McEvoy, Brodie Grundy, David Hale, Josh Fraser, Matthew Kreuzer, Nic Naitanui
