he is sure still to be considered by clubs on draft day

Each week, ESPN.com.au AFL draft expert Christopher Doerre - aka Knightmare - casts his eye over the countrys best junior footballers to give readers an early insight into the next generation of AFL stars.As well as attending live games, Doerre pores through match vision, analyses the stats and talks to industry sources to ensure he can offer the most insightful draft analysis.Aside from the weekly wrap, Doerre will also unveil his power rankings at the end of each month.And as we get closer to Novembers national draft, Doerre will also predict who goes where with his annual phantom draft.With the AFL Draft Combine now out, talent watchers from around the country will be looking through those names and familiarising themselves with those chosen to be tested.Similarly, in the lead-up to the National Under-18 Championships, draft watchers familiarised themselves with those team lists and there is good reason for this - the majority of players selected early in the draft come from state quads and those who test at the national combine.Despite this, last year Melbournes Clayton Oliver was picked fourth overall but did not make the Victoria Country squad to play at the under-18 championships.Collingwoods first selection Brayden Sier, who was selected with pick 32, was the first selected to not receive a national combine invite. He also was not selected for the Victoria Metro squad.So who could be a similar selection this year?Player focus Dan Allsop was not one of the 80 players invited to this years combine. He was not included in this years Victoria Country squad either. He is however one of the most talented small forwards in this years draft. At 175cm, Allsop is sixth in the TAC Cup goalkicking with 25 goals from 14 games. He is one of many strong contributors in Dandenongs balanced front half.What makes Allsop special, as he showed on Saturday against Sandringham, is how clean he is below the knees.Allsop is a genuine one touch player with a rare natural balance and coordination. He doesnt go to ground and keeps his feet when others dont. Consistently at the weekend, he was first to the ground ball and went to the right spots when the ball hit the deck. He showed some nice movement through traffic, evading would-be tacklers and shows class with ball in hand.Also important is Allsops forward pressure - he offers the second and third efforts and will work hard to keep the ball in the front half and force turnovers.AnalysisGiven these attributes, Allsop has genuine role player potential in the front half for an AFL team.From a draft context, he is a possible situational draft selection and would be suitable for selection by a club looking for a small forward.To this stage in his development, Allsop appears to be exclusively a small forward, which will hurt his draft ability so some extent with the focus recruiters have today on versatility.On Saturday, his disposal and finishing in front of goal while often good, was not to the level it needed to be. Field kicks and snaps from 40m are shots he should be finishing every time, but in windy conditions he failed to do.A lack of penetration by foot is also is something relatively lacking. He does not have a 50m kick and even at times seemed to struggle to make 40m with some of his snaps.Allsop against Sandringham finished the game with two goals and three behinds. Watching his activity and where he was when he won the ground balls, it could easily have been a six goal-game had he converted his chances while still getting a score assist.Allsop looks to be suitable for selection late in the draft or as a rookie.Victorian prospect watchTAC CupBen Ainsworth was prominent through the midfield for Gippsland with 20 disposals, 13 contested possessions, nine tackles, nine clearances, five inside 50s and one goal. His improving midfield play will only enhance his draft stocks and may see him feature inside the top five on draft day.Lachlan Tiziani has continued his hot form with 23 disposals, 11 contested possessions, six tackles, three clearances and three goals for Murray.Todd Marshall matched Tiziani with an equal team-high three goals to go along with 14 disposals, 10 contested possessions, four marks (one contested) and three score assists. Marshall is expected to be the first key forward selected this year and looms as a probable top-10 selection.Harry Morrison has had a positive month for Murray, continuing his good form with 18 disposals, 13 contested possessions, four clearances, seven inside 50s and three score assists. Morrison at 182cm has played most of his junior footy as a back flanker, with his penetrating but efficient kick, running ability and intercept marking all features of his game.Hugh McCluggage again continues to play good footy with 25 disposals, 14 contested possessions, five marks, eight tackles, seven clearances, five inside 50s and two goals. The major positive from this game was McCluggage led his team in contested possessions and clearances, which is a terrific sign and only furthers his case to be selected first overall.Top-age prospect Benjamin Ronke has had a positive month for Calder, finishing in the bests in his past four games. He has been prominent through the midfield and up forward with his contested-ball winning particularly impressive. Ronke had only the 17 disposals, but had a team-leading 14 contested possessions and nine clearances.Mason Blakely, the nephew of 359-gamer John Blakey, had arguably his most impressive game of the season for Northern. Off half back, Blakely managed 28 disposals, 12 contested possessions, four marks (one contested), four tackles and six rebound 50s.Bottom-age forward Jaidyn Stephenson continues to show promise with 17 disposals, eight marks (two contested), seven tackles, five inside 50s, one goal, two behinds and one score assist.Taylin Duman showed some exciting signs through the midfield for Oakleigh but failed to make the most of his opportunities in front of goal with 34 disposals, 14 contested possessions, seven marks, one goal, four behinds and one score assist. The 193cm mid is a smooth mover with a rare balance and agility for a tall midfielder. Duman, in the lead-up to this years draft, will be a player to watch as someone who may rise up draft boards over the coming months.Bottom-age midfielder Paddy Dow for Bendigo was a standout with 26 disposals, 18 contested possessions, eight tackles, seven clearances and six inside 50s. The 186cm midfielder will be a player to watch next season having been listed as Bendigos best player in the two games he has played in July.GWS Academy midfield prospect Kobe Mutch was also prominent for Bendigo with 29 disposals, 11 contested possessions, eight tackles, six marks (one contested).Lachie OBrien is another bottom-age prospect for Bendigo who continues to stand out with 23 disposals and five rebound 50s out of the back half.VFLPrevious weeks actionDavid Mirra, a 25-year-old general defender has been one of the prominent rebounding backmen in the VFL for some years now. He continued his strong play with 22 disposals, nine marks (two contested). These are routine numbers for Mirra at this level. His best performance for the season came against Werribee with a whopping 31 disposals and 16 marks off half back.Mirra with his consistency of performance over the years and leadership demonstrated down back for Box Hill is one of those players who knocks on the door each season for draft selection and could present an option for a club looking for an immediate back flanker who can provide drive from defence. This weeks action:Top-age prospect and high-leaping forward Brett Blair in his second VFL game featured amongst Werribees best with an encouraging three goals from his seven disposals and two marks.Joseph Atley was called up as the 23rd man for Geelongs VFL side. He impressed in his first game at VFL level with 18 disposals, four marks and two goals, which is a great sign that his game will translate against AFL bodies.South Australian prospect watchSANFLPrevious weeks actionLeague: Chris Jansen, a 21-year-old, 189cm midfielder for Central Districts, impressed with 39 disposals, 17 contested possessions and eight clearances. Jansen was in the mix for selection last year and with a strong finish to 2017 may see himself considered again.Former Adelaide rookie James Battersby was outstanding in Sturts win with 33 disposals, 15 contested possessions, 13 clearances, six tackles, six inside 50s and one goal.Christian Howard was outstanding off a half-back flank for Glenelg with 30 disposals, 20 kicks (18 effective), seven marks and eight rebound 50s. The ex- Western Bulldogs first-round pick has developed a greater maturity to his game since moving to Glenelg. A club looking for a rebounding back flanker who can use the footy well may look to Howard as an immediate fix.Jonty Scharenberg for Glenelg managed 13 disposals, seven contested possessions and one goal in their narrow win against Adelaide.Matthew Panos, the former Western Bulldogs rookie, has over recent seasons developed through the midfield for Norwood. The 25-year-old at 191cm offers plenty of grunt through the midfield. Against North Adelaide, Panos had 30 disposals, 13 contested possessions, nine marks (two contested), four tackles, five clearances and two score assists - a strong contribution and something many have come to expect from Panos in recent years.ReservesSteven Slimming proved effective for Sturt through the midfield with 23 disposals, seven contested possessions, eight marks, three clearances, five inside 50s and two score assists. After a terrific bottom-age season, Slimming has struggled to make meaningful inroads this year with his ball use notably a strength last year seeming less reliable in 2016. He will be looking to finish the season strongly and show his form from the first half of the season was an aberration.Ben Jarman showed further signs of promise with 20 disposals, six marks, six tackles, one goal and two score assists as he pushes for selection as a father-son prospect to either Adelaide or Hawthorn.Peter Ladhams continued to show that he can be more than just a ruckman with two goals and one score assist, playing the relieving ruck role for Norwood.Jake Comitogianni was outstanding for Woodville West Torrens with 32 disposals, 14 contested possessions and three score assists.Under-18sStephen Giro continues to make the statement that he is one of the South Australians to watch in 2017. Giro had a whopping 45 disposals, 18 contested possessions, 10 marks and 13 clearances through the midfield for Norwood. Giro routinely this season has accumulated big numbers.Kane Blades was again excellent for Norwood up forward with 18 disposals, 11 marks (two contested) and six goals.Dakota Nixon again performed solidly for North Adelaide with 28 disposals, 12 contested possessions, five marks, five tackles, six clearances, nine inside 50s and two score assists through the midfield.Kym Lebois was effective in the front half and through the midfield with 23 disposals, and two goals.Jackson Edwards as a bottom-ager was again prominent with 27 disposals, 11 contested possessions, five marks, five clearances and one goal.Tyson Stengle was impactful up forward with 18 disposals and three goals.Callum Coleman-Jones, one of the most promising bottom-age prospects, proved effective both through the ruck and up forward. Coleman-Jones had 15 disposals, six tackles and 24 hitouts along with three goals and two score assists. He looms as an ideal big man as an effective ruckman who is arguably even better as a forward.This weeks actionLeagueJonty Scharenberg against Norwood had 15 disposals, six contested possessions, five tackles and three marks.Exciting forward Willy Rioli had one of his best games for the season with 13 disposals, six tackles and five goals.Jake Pitman, arguably unlucky not to receive a draft combine invite, performed well for Norwood through the midfield with 15 disposals, 10 contested possessions, six tackles and seven clearances.Chris Schmidt, a 27-year-old who previously played for Adelaide and Brisbane at AFL level, has been one of the SANFLs best performers each year and has arguably been performing to an AFL standard in recent seasons. Against West Adelaide he had an impressive 38 disposals, 16 contested possessions, seven tackles and 10 clearances. Schmidt has featured in the bests a competition-high 13 times this season (Nicholas Holman, Zane Kirkwood and Christian Howard are the next highest, making the bests for their teams 10 times each).Kaine Stevens, a mature-age midfield prospect, along with Schmidt has featured prominently through the West Adelaide midfield this year. He was again impressive with 30 disposals, 10 contested possessions, seven marks, seven clearances and seven inside 50s. From his 14 games this season he has managed an impressive 10 goals through the midfield, after 21 goals from his 22 games last season.James Battersby again requires a mention for his performance against West Adelaide with 28 disposals, 15 contested possessions, five marks, five tackles, 11 clearances, two goals and one score assist. Battersby is still only 20 and with continued strong form may again come into draft consideration.ReservesJake Comitogianni continued his strong form with 33 disposals, nine contested possessions, seven marks and one goal. The 180cm midfielder is a lively type who brings good energy to the contest. Comitogianni will be considered by some watchers to be unlucky not to have received an invite to the combine. With a strong close to the season, he can come under consideration from AFL clubs given how well he has performed this season.Bottom-age midfielder Isaac Hewson showed some positive signs for Norwood with 17 disposals, 12 contested possessions, four tackles, five clearances, six inside 50s and one goal.Peter Ladhams again performed well as a relieving ruckman with 15 disposals, five marks (two contested), 20 hitouts, six inside 50s and one goal.Top-age midfielder Campbell Wildman had a big week with 38 disposals, 15 contested possessions, eight marks, eight clearances, seven inside 50s and five rebound 50s.Steven Slimming backed up his strong form from the previous week with 22 disposals, six marks and two score assists.Under-18sMidfielder Mitchell Crowden was outstanding for Sturt with 41 disposals, 14 contested possessions, five marks, eight tackles, six clearances, six inside 50s and one goal.Ruckman Jordan Sweet had his strongest game of the season with a whopping 22 disposals, 12 marks (three contested), 27 hitouts and six goals. Sweet, along with fellow South Australian ruckman Peter Ladhams, was not invited to the combine but performances such as these will surely see them in the mix for selection late in the national draft or as rookies.Lee Minervini was influential for North Adelaide through the midfield with 37 disposals, 20 contested possessions, nine tackles, eight clearances, nine inside 50s and three score assists. He has featured in the bests in each of his seven games in the under-18s for North Adelaide.Stephen Giro continued racking up the footy for Norwood with 44 disposals, 18 contested possessions, nine marks, six tackles, 13 clearances, nine inside 50s, four goals and one score assist.Midfielder Jakob Heitmann was excellent for West Adelaide with 34 disposals, 23 contested possessions, nine tackles, 15 clearances and one goal.Bottom-age forward Darcy Fogarty showed signs of promise with 17 disposals, six marks (one contested), five tackles, seven inside 50s and one score assist. He was just unable to finish in front of goal in this game with four behinds.Western Australian prospect watchWAFLPrevious weeks actionLeagueTyler Keitel continued his push to become the first mature-age prospect selected with 30 disposals, seven marks, five tackles and eight inside 50s.Shane Nelson maintained his irresistible form through the midfield for West Perth with 38 disposals. Nelson, a 176cm, 23-year-old midfielder, has not dropped below 29 disposals this season from his 11 games and has not dropped below 33 possessions since round 10.Nelson each year keeps putting up strong performances in the WAFL and continues improving. He is also very athletically gifted as evidenced by his 2012 testing results where he managed an outstanding 2.82 second 20m sprint, a 7.85 second agility test and a 24.31 second repeat sprint time which are top results.Nelson is no guarantee to get selected this year, but he is one of those state leaguers who continues knocking on the door and would be an easy late or rookie selection for a club looking for a small midfielder with his pace, clean skills and ability to find the footy at will.ReservesPotential first-round selection Joshua Rotham impressed with 17 disposals, four marks and one goal for West Perth.Liam Baker, a 175cm midfielder/forward was influential for West Perth with 18 disposals and three goals. This is following up a 19-disposal, two-goal performance the previous week.Sam Powell-Pepper for East Perth contributed well with 14 disposals and three inside 50s.This weeks actionLeagueExciting forward Ryan Lim continued his push for selection with 14 disposals, four marks and three goals.Ex-Collingwood rookie Jye Bolton was terrific for Claremont with 37 disposals, five marks, four tackles, eight inside 50s and one goal.Zac Fisher was the best of the under-18 prospects playing WAFL League footy with 22 disposals, five inside 50s and two goals for Perth.George Hampson, a 188cm, 26-year-old forward, continues to play to a standard that could see him considered by AFL clubs as an immediate list fit, with 35 disposals, eight marks, two goals and three behinds.ReservesMichael Humble was one of the best performers for Peel through the midfield with 22 disposals, six tackles and one goal. Despite not being selected this year to represent Western Australia during the under-18 titles, he has been among the more consistent WA midfielders this season.Likely top-10 selection Tim English was solid through the ruck with 16 disposals, 31 hitouts and one goal.Potential West Coast father-son selection Jake Waterman made the most of his first reserves games of the season with 19 disposals, nine marks, four tackles, five inside 50s and three goals.Bailey Banfield, a 188cm midfield has made it two from two reserves games with 20+ disposals, finishing with 22 touches for Claremont in their win against East Perth.Jeremy Goddard as he so often does, won the hitout count with 44. What club recruiters are looking for more of from Goddard is more of an impact around the ground with his seven disposals not enough. He came into the season as one of the more spoken about ruckmen, but has not received an invite to this years combine. His inability to have an impact around the ground, find enough of the footy by position or offer a marking or goalkicking threat forward of centre major reasons behind this.Sam Powell-Pepper was impactful through the front half and pushing up through the midfield with 20 disposals, four inside 50s and one goal.ColtsShai Bolton again showed glimpses up forward with 23 disposals, six marks, one goal and four behinds.Zane Sumich, the son of Peter had 14 disposals, seven marks, two goals and two behinds.Sam Petrevski-Seton was impressive with 32 disposals, six marks but wasteful in front of goal with three behinds.Athletic 188cm forward Cameron Zurhaar had his best return of the year so far with 22 disposals, five marks, five tackles, five inside 50s and three goals.Top-age midfielder/forward Quinton Narkle performed strongly with 22 disposals, three marks, two goals and two behinds.Jake Howes, a 2018 eligible prospect, was outstanding in his second Colts game with 28 disposals, four marks, five tackles and six inside 50s.Division two states (Tasmania, Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland and Northern Academy) prospects watchNEAFLPrevious weeks actionBrisbane Academy prospectsDeclan Watson again performed strongly down back with 20 disposals, playing as a key defender. Watson is mounting a case that he is the best rebounding key defender in this draft class.Jack Rolls, Brisbanes other impressive Academy prospect, against GWS was also productive with 19 disposals and seven marks. Some will be surprised that Rolls did not receive a combine invite, but given his versatility and production throughout the season, he is sure still to be considered by clubs on draft day.Gold Coast Academy prospects:Brad Scheer and Jack Bowes were Gold Coasts leading possession winners with 27 and 24 disposals respectively. They took advantage of Gold Coasts mounting list of injured midfielders and thrived in prominent midfield roles.Josh Williams, a 189cm outside runner is also eligible for this years draft and impressed with 19 disposals.Jacob Dawson, a 181cm bottom-age midfielder also showed promise with 19 disposals.GWS Academy prospects:Mitch Maguire while unlucky not to receive a draft combine invite continues his push for selection with 20 disposals.Connor Byrne also impressed for GWS with 17 disposals through the midfield.Harrison Macreadie managed only the 10 disposals down back but held up well against AFL listed key forwards.This weeks action:Brisbane:Bottom-age father-son prospect Jack Clayton showed promising signs with 21 disposals, three marks, three tackles, three inside 50s and four rebound 50s.Jacob Allison was prominent with 17 disposals, six marks and three inside 50s.GWS:Harrison Macreadie offered good rebound against Sydney with 19 disposals, six marks, three inside 50s and three rebound 50s.Connor Byrne was again productive with 16 disposals, three marks, seven tackles, three clearances, five inside 50s and one goal.A list of the 2016 draft combine invites:NSW-ACTIsaac Cumming (Broken Hill)Ben Davis (UNSW)Sam Fisher (Ainslie)Ryan Garthwaite (Murray Bushrangers)Max Lynch (Murray Bushrangers)Harrison Macreadie (Henty)Todd Marshall (Murray Bushrangers)Kobe Mutch (Bendigo Pioneers)Harry Perryman (Collingullie)Will Setterfield (Sandringham Dragons)Zachary Sproule (Murray Bushrangers)NORTHERN TERRITORYBen Long (NT Thunder)Tony Olango (NT Thunder)Brandan Parfitt (NT Thunder/North Adelaide)?QUEENSLANDJacob Allison (Aspley)Jack Bowes (Cairns)Elliott Himmelberg (Redlands)Brad Scheer (Palm Beach Currumbin)Declan Watson (Aspley)Josh Williams (Surfers Paradise)SOUTH AUSTRALIABrennan Cox (Woodville West Torrens)Jack Graham (North A