GEORGE Wardlaw had barely been injured before this season. A broken nose last year set him back a week or two – a natural hazard when you are an aggressive ball-winner in the midfield – but nothing of much note. "I've never had a soft-tissue injury before this year," he told AFL.com.au.

However, this season luck turned against Wardlaw, who has shaped as a potential No.1 pick in this year's NAB AFL Draft class. A hamstring injury he picked up whilst training at his school St Kevin's College then had an aggravation just as he was set to resume, before he returned for his school's final game of the season. That lasted five minutes, before another strain of the same hamstring saw him on the sidelines icing his leg watching on.

The last time he played a full game was in June, and since then he's missed all of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships for Vic Metro and Oakleigh Chargers' back end of the NAB League season. And yet still, Wardlaw is in the mix for the first live pick of the national draft.

"Sometimes things you can't control get the better of you and that's been the case this year and I've probably missed more than half of the season," he said.

"It's been frustrating to watch other people dominate and see the teams I'm still connected with play without me. But I've had a lot of people in my ear with good, positive input so I haven't been too down but it's definitely been frustrating."

Wardlaw is matter-of-fact about his injury run, and could have played in the final Vic Metro game against Vic Country in Grand Final week but opted to take a cautious approach about four weeks after his most recent strain. Even that was not a significant tear, allaying questions on his durability.

"I got an MRI on that and the results were pretty positive, it wasn't the same injury, it was a bit higher up and it's basically very low grade and they barely considered it a strain," he said.

That Wardlaw still sits so highly in recruiters minds says a few things: that his first half of the season was so impressive and that he has all the attributes clubs are looking for in the modern midfielder, but also that they will want to know all the details on his hamstring as they weigh up early selections for him. He will meet with clubs and undertake the AFL's medical screening this weekend at the NAB AFL Draft Combine in Melbourne, but is unlikely to test due to his injury-interrupted lead-in.

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"It's weird because the majority of this injury I've felt almost 100 per cent most of the time. There was a period of about three weeks there where I was doing everything right and I was back to normal. There was that relapse, which was annoying, but I know I've gotten through it and will be back," he said.

"Recruiters do ask about how it happened and what I am doing to better it, but they're more concerned about the actual medical information from the experts. They're probably not going to trust the input of an 18-year-old who doesn't know much about these kinds of things.

"But I just relay the information I'm told by the experts and what they've said has been really positive."

Wardlaw is a midfielder with some very enticing traits. He is a mix of hustle-and-bustle and poise, spinning out of clearances and taking a few quick steps to blast off. He can jump and jump high – second best overall in the vertical jumps at the NAB League testing day – and flies for his marks. He plays on and fends off, but also has some old-fashioned footy nous. When recruiters speak of 'power', they think of Wardlaw.

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Wardlaw's performances in bigger games – his best-on-ground showing in round one against Sandringham and against best-afield effort for the NAB AFL Academy against Collingwood's VFL side – also underlined him as a player who thrives when things heat up.

"I don't really see the bigger games as a chance to perform even better, I see all games as an equal opportunity," he said. "But that game for the Australian side definitely had more subconscious meaning. I knew the significance of it and it had an impact on how I went into the game. I probably cracked in a bit harder that day."

Wardlaw is competitive but modest, and has his 'What if?' moments where he does think about how his season could have looked without the hammy triple-whammy. But it will have little bearing on his draft position, with the exciting talent remaining a contender for the No.1 pick, or No.2 if a club bids on father-son prospect Will Ashcroft.

"I remember when I first heard that suggestion I just couldn't comprehend it. I've come to terms with it a bit more now. There's a lot of good players in our draft and I'm not too consumed by the fact I could go No.1 or around there. It's about going as high as I can and regardless of getting drafted at one, two, three or wherever, it's a privilege," he said.

There's North Melbourne, West Coast and Greater Western Sydney who will all closely consider Wardlaw. However, a mad Bombers supporter, he can't deny he has kept a close eye on where Essendon's first selection comes in.

"You can only dream, can't you? I had an interview with the Bombers, I think it went pretty well. I'm pretty sure I expressed my interest in them for the last 17 or 18 years. I love the Bombers, pick four, hopefully, who knows?" he said. "I don't really care where, just getting drafted is the main thing."