A BOUT of sickness might have derailed top-ranked junior Lachie Whitfield's expected tilt at endurance records at this week's NAB AFL Draft Combine.

Whitfield, an 18-year-old from the Dandenong Stingrays, was expected to threaten the records for the beep test and the 3km time-trial at the combine, which is being held at Etihad Stadium.

"I was sick all last week so I feel like I lost a bit of fitness through that," Whitfield said on Tuesday, the first day of the combine. "But I'll put my best foot forward."

Greater Western Sydney is expected to select Whitfield at No.1 in next month's NAB AFL Draft.

The midfielder from Mount Martha, on the Mornington Peninsula, grew up idolising former Hawthorn champion Shane Crawford.

He said he's always modelled his game on Crawford's, but in recent times he's found a new player to base his game on.

"Just recently I've started to compare myself to Steele Sidebottom, in his endurance and ball usage," Whitfield said.

Whitfield this season was named in the Under-18 All-Australian team for the second successive year after another brilliant performance with Victorian Country in the under-18 championships.

This season he was also awarded the Larke Medal for the best player in division one of the championships after again showing the speed, endurance, skill and awareness that have earned such rave reviews.

Another midfielder who will be taken high in the national draft, Jack Viney, said at the combine that he'd learned much about himself during his seven-week stint on the sidelines with a broken jaw.

Viney, 18, suffered his injury during a clash with Geelong veteran David Wojcinski in his first VFL match with the Casey Scorpions.

He returned from the injury to play two more games with the Scorpions.

"It was a fairly long time on the sidelines, but it was a great experience to be able to work on some of my deficiencies," Viney said.

"I guess I tried to turn it into a positive.

"It was great to learn about myself and I've become a better footballer for it."

Melbourne must notify the AFL on Friday whether it wishes to nominate Viney, whose father is former midfielder Todd, under the father-son rule.

If either of the two clubs ahead of Melbourne in the national draft, GWS and Gold Coast, nominate for Viney's signature next Monday, the Demons would be forced to take Viney with their first-round selection, which is No.3.

If neither GWS nor Gold Coast nominate Viney, the Demons could take him with their second-round pick.

Given that GWS is expected to use its first selection to take Whitfield, the ball appears to be in Gold Coast's court as to whether Viney becomes a Demon.

"That's the process," Viney said. "That's the father-son system.

"Whether I end up at Gold Coast or Melbourne, I get to play the sport I love.

"They (the Demons) have given me no guarantees. I'm looking forward to seeing where my fate lies at the end of the week."

Viney said he's unfussed with the extra attention that comes with being a prospective father-son selection.

He said he looks up to the best-known father-son selection in the competition, Essendon captain Jobe Watson, who won the Brownlow Medal last week.

"He's definitely someone I can look up to," Viney said. "There's a bit more expectation on me — more media, stuff like that — but I'm not too fussed about it.

"I just want to get my foot inside the door of an AFL club. I just want the opportunity to play good footy."

The combine goes from Tuesday to Friday, with 115 prospects to come under testing.

Ten of those prospects are internationals, from countries such as Papua New Guinea, China, New Zealand, Ireland and the United States.

Eric Wallace, a basketballer from Winston-Salem in the US, said he was inspired by the performance of Sydney Swans ruckman Mike Pyke in the Grand Final.

Pyke began his Swans career at 24 after abandoning his career as a rugby union international with Canada.

"Four years ago he was in the same situation as me, not having played the game or even heard of the game," Wallace said.

"To work his butt off for four years and be one of the best players on the ground in the Grand Final — that's inspiring."

Wallace is in Melbourne after testing well at the recent combine that the AFL held in Los Angeles for American athletes.

"I went down with an open mind, had fun, tested well, and here I am in Australia."

Wallace, a 23-year-old who is 197cm and 105kg, has graduated from Seattle University. He was planning to play professional basketball in Europe before his manager asked whether he'd be interested in the AFL combine.

"I'm very confident," he said. "All I can do is the best I can — run fast, jump high, smile a bit, get to know people, have a good time while I'm in Australia.

"I've been in Australia since Wednesday and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

The combine ends with the 3km time-trial on Friday.

Former West Coast wingman Tim Houlihan holds the time-trial record with nine minutes 37 seconds, while Bradley Hill set the beep test record last year with 16.1.

Hill made his debut with Hawthorn this season.