Throughout the remainder of the 2008 NAB AFL under 18 championships, AFL youth and high performance coordinator and former AFL star Jason McCartney will give afl.com.au his thoughts on the players who caught his eye.

Here are his assessments after South Australia overcame a gallant Tasmania by 45 points at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA v TASMANIA

South Australia

Rhys O'Keeffe - He ended up with 20 disposals, but what I liked about him was that he had five hard-ball gets. He played as a rebounding, running half-back; he's a left-footer and he looks to be really hard at it. He runs the lines and is a straight ahead type of player. As a taller, running half-back, Rhys really complimented South Australia's key defenders. I thought on the day, he was one of their better players and I hadn't seen him before.

Paul Cahill - He came to our December AIS camp as one of the athletes who was close to getting a scholarship and we wanted to have a look at him. Paul stands at 192cm and he has a massive vertical leap, and he uses his great spring in the way he plays. He was pretty lively at full-forward and I thought he really turned the game for South Australia in the second half when he pushed out to centre half-forward. He only had the 10 disposals and kicked two goals, but he took five contested marking and stood out in the third quarter. Something happened around him all the time and if he didn't win the ball, he made sure the crumbers got it, so he was important throughout the game.

Matthew Martin - He is a 196cm key position player and the ball didn't get past him really at centre half-back or full-back. He was really strong overhead and for his size showed excellent agility. He handballed more than kicked - I don't know if he's got a heap of confidence in his kicking - but he was the rock South Australia built its defence around. I hadn't seen him before, so it was good to come across him.

Dale Armstrong - He had 22 disposals and I remember him playing in the under-16s last year. His ball use wasn't super during the under-16s carnival, but he has a great ability to continually win the ball. He was in the midfield and gave South Australia a lot of supply.

Hamish Hartlett - He didn't have a super game; he only had 11 disposals, but he kicked a couple of goals. For South Australia to do well in this carnival, it needs Hamish to stand up. Still, the 11 touches he had were just silk quality. He's played senior footy and he frees the arms in a tackle and is able to dish off under pressure. Once he gathered the loose ball with one hand, swiveled and two players hardly laid a glove on him before he steadied to run inside 50 and kick a goal. He wasn't prominent but the things he did were really good. Jackson O'Brien from Tassie ran with him and Tasmania named O'Brien its best - that's how much Hamish Hartlett is rated.

Lewis Johnston - He's a boy I've had a little bit to do with in the program. He's a key position player - centre half-forward or full-forward - and although he didn't have a lot of ground time, he made the most of his opportunities kicking four goals. He's a beautiful kick of the footy and a beautiful finisher. He's got great timing in his leads and is quick off the mark.

Tasmania

Mitch Robinson - Mitch won the Harrison Medal in division two and I thought he was outstanding against South Australia. He did tire late in the game, but playing along the wing and in the midfield, he really took them on. He's a line-breaker and a penetrating kick. Mitch had 22 disposals and seven inside 50s and was super impressive. He probably set the scene for the whole team, taking on the opposition and his teammates followed his lead. He was really good.

Tom Allwright - He's a strong body-type at 185cm and 83kg. He played wing and through the midfield and was fantastically hard at it. He won 22 disposals and was really instrumental. He had a good division two series and continued it on this match.

Jesse Crichton - He's a bit of a lightweight at 183cm and 66kg. He's got the moppy, blonde curly hair and was super impressive. He really stepped up to the plate and plays with great intensity. He's got good speed and makes good decisions. He's a left-footer and ended up with 15 disposals. Jesse really does look like a league player and he's AIS eligible this year, so he'll come under the selectors' note. He's an exciting prospect as a bottom-aged kid. He really stepped up in elite older-age company.

Jacob Hislop - He is the younger brother of Tom, who plays at Essendon. Jacob is really hard at it and he kicked a great goal in the third quarter; a snap from the boundary line. He led the way and had 17 disposals, four clearances and six tackles, so he could really hold his head high.

Bart McCulloch - He didn't have a super game, but he continued to impress. He kicked three goals from limited opportunities and played a lone hand up forward and in the ruck because Aaron Cornelius didn't have the greatest game against South Australia. Bart ended up being the main target and his mobility at 198cm - you'd think he'd have a pretty bright future.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.