VICTORIAN pair Cooper Sharman and Sam Philp have caught the eye of recruiters, winning selection to the NAB AFL Draft Combine despite not featuring at the recent NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
Sharman, a marking forward who looms as a bolter in this year's draft class, has burst onto the scene at local level and recently broke into the Oakleigh Chargers' NAB League side.
AFL scouts have seen enough promise in Sharman to make him one of the 79 prospects who will attend the four-day Combine in October, where he'll be joined by Philp.
The Northern Knights midfielder was overlooked for Vic Metro selection at the national carnival but has pieced together a strong season, averaging 20 disposals in the NAB League.
They are two of 23 players from the Vic Metro region set to trial in front of recruiters at the Combine, with that area having the biggest representation. Possible top-two picks Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are among six Oakleigh Chargers to be selected.
Potential top-two picks Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell. Picture: AFL Photos
Prospects needed to be nominated by at least four clubs to head to the national Combine, with state Combine lists set to be revealed in coming weeks.
Potential top-five picks Caleb Serong and Hayden Young head a group of 21 players from Vic Country who will test at the Combine, while Western Australia, the winner of the under-18 title, will have 16 players there.
Caleb Serong in action for Vic Metro at the NAB AFL U18 Championships. Picture: AFL Photos
In a sign of a more open draft than last year, Liam Henry (Fremantle) is the only player headed to the Combine who is tied to a club via its Next Generation Academy, while there are only two father-son prospects (Finn Maginness for Hawthorn and Jackson Mead for Port Adelaide).
The introduction of the mid-season draft, plus the pre-season supplemental selection period, has seen plenty of talent already taken from the state leagues across the country, with no mature-agers trialling at this year's Combine.
AFL.com.au reported earlier this month the AFL is looking for a new home for the Combine, shifting it away from Marvel Stadium for the first time since 2011 due to a scheduling clash.
The venue will be hosting the international UFC event on Sunday, October 6, which has forced a shift of the Combine to elsewhere in Melbourne. It will still be held from Tuesday, October 1 to Friday, October 4.
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2019 NAB AFL Draft Combine list
NSW/ACT
Liam Delahunty (GWS Academy)
Tom Green (GWS Academy)
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Malcolm Rosas (NT Thunder)
QUEENSLAND
Connor Budarick (Gold Coast Academy)
Noah Cumberland (Brisbane Lions Academy)
Will Martyn (Brisbane Lions Academy)
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Will Day (West Adelaide)
Karl Finlay (North Adelaide)
Will Gould (Glenelg)
Dyson Hilder (North Adelaide)
Jackson Mead (Woodville-West Torrens)
Josh Morris (Woodville-West Torrens)
Callum Park (Glenelg)
Kysaiah Pickett (Woodville-West Torrens)
Harry Schoenberg (Woodville-West Torrens)
Josh Shute (Sturt)
Dylan Stephens (Norwood)
Cameron Taheny (Norwood)
TASMANIA
Mitch O'Neill (Tasmania Devils)
VIC COUNTRY
Lachlan Ash (Murray Bushrangers)
Riley Baldi (Gippsland Power)
Ned Cahill (Dandenong Stingrays)
Darcy Chirgwin (Sandringham Dragons)
Jesse Clark (Geelong Falcons)
Charlie Comben (Gippsland Power)
Sam De Koning (Dandenong Stingrays)
Thomson Dow (Bendigo Pioneers)
Sam Flanders (Gippsland Power)
Brodie Kemp (Bendigo Pioneers)
Flynn Perez (Bendigo Pioneers)
Fraser Phillips (Gippsland Power)
Jay Rantall (GWV Rebels)
Brady Rowles (Bendigo Pioneers)
Caleb Serong (Gippsland Power)
Brock Smith (Gippsland Power)
Cooper Stephens (Geelong Falcons)
Isaac Wareham (GWV Rebels)
Cody Weightman (Dandenong Stingrays)
Lachlan Williams (Dandenong Stingrays)
Hayden Young (Dandenong Stingrays)
VIC METRO
Noah Anderson (Oakleigh Chargers)
Jack Bell (Sandringham Dragons)
Miles Bergman (Sandringham Dragons)
Trent Bianco (Oakleigh Chargers)
Nick Bryan (Oakleigh Chargers)
Louis Butler (Sandringham Dragons)
Ryan Byrnes (Sandringham Dragons)
Darcy Cassar (Western Jets)
Josh Honey (Western Jets)
Emerson Jeka (Western Jets)
Harrison Jones (Calder Cannons)
Oscar Lewis (Sandringham Dragons)
Finn Maginness (Sandringham Dragons)
Jack Mahony (Sandringham Dragons)
Fischer McAsey (Sandringham Dragons)
Daniel Mott (Calder Cannons)
Sam Philp (Northern Knights)
Hugo Ralphsmith (Sandringham Dragons)
Matt Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
Cooper Sharman (Oakleigh Chargers)
Ryan Sturgess (Northern Knights)
Dylan Williams (Oakleigh Chargers)
Josh Worrell (Sandringham Dragons)
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Riley Garcia (Swan Districts)
Mitch Georgiades (Subiaco)
Liam Henry (Claremont)
Jai Jackson (East Fremantle)
Luke Jackson (East Fremantle)
Callum Jamieson (Claremont)
Ben Johnson (West Perth)
Ronin O'Connor (Claremont)
Jake Pasini (Swan Districts)
Jaxon Prior (West Perth)
Trent Rivers (East Fremantle)
Deven Robertson (Perth)
Trey Ruscoe (East Fremantle)
Jeremy Sharp (East Fremantle)
Elijah Taylor (Perth)
Chad Warner (East Fremantle)
