VIC METRO forward Jonathon Patton took another step toward Greater Western Sydney on Friday with a best-on-ground performance in Metro's 26-point win against South Australia.
The imposing 197cm forward presented well at Skilled Stadium and finished off his hard work with five goals to take his championship tally to 16 goals from four games.
Patton was rated best afield by coach Rohan Welsh for the third time in as many games to firm as the favourite to be taken first overall by GWS in the NAB AFL Draft to be held in Sydney on November 24.
The 18-year-old's strength overhead and ability to split packs has already drawn comparisons to powerful Brisbane Lions' forward Jonathan Brown, but he remains unfazed by the attention he's receiving.
"I just don't let it go to my head really. I've still got half a year of footy to go, so I'm just taking it week by week and having fun," Patton said.
"After the carnival I'll just go back to Eastern Ranges and try to finish the season well and play finals, but obviously I'll also be training hard for the [draft combine] ahead of the draft.
"All the talk and speculation … I get a fair bit of attention from my friends [about it], but I'm not getting ahead of myself. It's all been really great though."
Like Gold Coast before them, the Giants have nine of the first 15 picks at the draft including the first three.
In a similar scenario to the lead-in to last year's draft, three players have emerged as the early favourites to be claimed with those three picks.
The 2010 national draft saw David Swallow, Harley Bennell and Sam Day pack their bags and head to Queensland as the first three players picked by the Suns.
The only speculation ahead of hearing their names called was over what order Gold Coast recruiting manager Scott Clayton would read them out and, even at this early stage, Patton, South Australian onballer Chad Wingard and Western Australian midfielder Stephen Coniglio are being spoken of in the same manner.
Of course, plenty can happen between now and the draft - Coniglio didn't have his usual influence in WA's loss to Vic Country and Wingard was knocked out in the first quarter - but Patton hasn't missed a beat and looms as the key to Metro's chances of taking out the Division One title when the team takes on Vic Country at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.