CLAREMONT key forward and AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft hopeful Jack Buller remembers progressing through the talent pathway five years ago and believing his AFL future would unfold naturally.

A member of Western Australia's star-studded under-18 championship team in 2019, he had moved through the ranks with Luke Jackson, Chad Warner, Trent Rivers and others, hungry for his AFL dream to start.

But while those teammates who made it learned the value of hard work early, Buller – who was a key defender and ruckman at that point – believes he became complacent and was quite rightly overlooked by AFL clubs.

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One of the leading contenders for this year's mid-season draft after producing some standout performances in the WAFL this season, it is clearly an experience he has learned from after using hard work and dedication to create another potential AFL opportunity for himself as a 21-year-old.

"Playing in all those state teams put it in my mind that it was just going to unfold for me, and something I didn't understand at the time was the hard work you need to do to play good footy and potentially make it to the AFL," Buller told AFL.com.au ahead of the mid-season draft on May 31.

"So when it started unravelling in front of me in that draft year, it was really tough and I didn't go about it the best way. I didn't look at it as a challenge where I needed to step forward.

"It was definitely humbling, and I saw a lot of guys I trained with get picked up, and at the time I thought we were the same and I was going to be a part of that. 

"But I missed out, and it was definitely fair enough. I just wasn't committed enough at the time. It wasn't through a lack of wanting it, it was a lack of understanding what it takes and putting in the extras."

Buller has emerged as a leading option for AFL clubs on the hunt for a key forward this year, with several Victorian clubs showing strong interest in the 99kg big man, who models his game on powerful Port Adelaide forward/ruck Charlie Dixon.

The Claremont forward, who will return from a minor leg niggle this week, surfaced as an improved player in round one for the Tigers with 10 marks and 1.4 before shooting to prominence with AFL recruiters the following week with the most complete performance of his career, dominating South Fremantle with 22 disposals, 14 marks, and four goals.

The key has been his improved fitness after working with Australian Commonwealth Games runner Matt Ramsden during the off-season, having realised last year how much better he could be when he got to more contests.

"The more I was able to work my opponent over and get them tired, it led to more opportunities to lead up at the footy and get the ball in better spots, so that clicked last year going into finals," Buller said.

"It's something I tried to bring forward and implement for the start of this season, which I think I've done, and it has paid dividends."

Working with Ramsden, who has represented Australia in 1500m and 5000m events, involved three sessions a week over December and January with a handful of Claremont teammates.

The group built their fitness base with threshold running over 5km in one session a week, long-distance runs in another over 9km, and then high-speed repeat efforts in the third.

"He put us through some gruelling sessions, but that's what it's all about," Buller said.

"It was really good to set up a good base over December and January to hit pre-season pretty hard."

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Another key figure in Buller's emergence is Claremont star and dual Sandover medallist Jye Bolton, who first got the key forward thinking about the importance of fitness and hard work.

Buller moved in with Bolton during his first year of reserves football at Claremont in 2020 and became a student of the former Collingwood rookie, who is revered for his elite fitness standards.

"He's probably the biggest [mentor] I've had in my life, and he really preached to me the idea of hard work in the gym and with your running," Buller said.

"He would often drag me down to the oval and the gym and get it into me, and the next season is when I started playing league footy.

"I learnt that the off-season is your time to grind, and I'd go along with him and a few of the other leaders to build that."

Buller also heard the stories of his older teammates at Claremont, like Ryan Lim, who had been a member of the AFL Academy as a teenager but never got his chance at the top level.

Helping those teammates win a WAFL premiership after last year's 12-point loss to West Perth is Buller's focus, but staying grounded and not getting caught up in the AFL opportunity that may beckon has taken discipline. 

Still, with a Bachelor of Commerce nearly completed and having learned the value of hard work, he's concluded that being overlooked as a teenager has helped prepare him if an opportunity does come this month. 

"The mental aspect is something that I reckon would have almost chewed me up and spat me out if I got the opportunity as an 18-year-old," Buller said.

"Back then I might have taken it for granted and not truly appreciated it, but now I think I really appreciate the sacrifices that are needed and I'm ready to give it 100 per cent."