STRENGTHS
We'll start with the foot skills. Hartung has the rare ability to kick precisely – over short and long distances – while running at top gear. He has the deft touch in his foot, is good at kicking long goals like he did in the Grand Final, and hitting a moving target. Hartung backs himself to use his traits, too. He has the pace in his legs to see a gap between players and then zip through it, and the elite endurance to do it again and again. At the NAB AFL Draft Combine last month, Hartung did the best beep test in combine history, breaking the record with a 16.6 run. Few players possess the same blend of aerobic capacity and speed, which showed against South Australia when he made two or three blinding runs down the wing. Even fewer complement the athleticism with the footy smarts.
WEAKNESSES
At about 177cm, Hartung isn't a big guy. He's also pretty lightly framed, although he did stack on some muscle at the end of last season before his surgery. With his skillset, Hartung is probably always going to be best suited to playing outside footy. His statistics for the Stingrays and Vic Country this year show about 75 per cent of his disposals are uncontested, so he can even that ratio up.
Hartung is placed in the 12-30 draft range, and should be picked somewhere in that grouping.
BOTTOM LINE
The draft gets a shot of excitement with Hartung, who should fit a need for a number of clubs. Fleet-footed, changes direction quickly and makes the play. He knows how to use his weapons.