Kevin Sheehan has named Sandringham Dragon Finn Callaghan as one to watch out for on draft night.
Callaghan, 18, appears as one of the best midfield prospects in the 2021 draft class that features Jason Horne-Francis and Nick Daicos.
He was ranked as the fourth best prospect available in the National Draft by AFL Media’s draft guru Cal Twomey in his November rankings.
With Horne-Francis essentially locked in to go to North Melbourne at pick one and Daicos likely to be bid on in the first few selections, it leaves Callaghan as the third midfielder seemingly destined to be selected in the first five picks.
While the 191 cm prospect was in the same boat as other Victorian draftees in having their years interrupted, he still averaged 24.3 disposals, 3.2 tackles and 4.5 marks in his shortened season.
Sheehan believes Callaghan displays similar traits to Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli, who was selected at pick four back in 2013.
“You’ve got the two or three probably fighting for who is the best of the nation right now (in terms of tall midfielders), the much-publicised Jason Horne-Francis, Nick Daicos, and we throw in a kid called Finn Callaghan,” Sheehan told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“All the little things count at this time of the year, he’s grown another couple of centimetres.
“As one scout said to me the other day, ‘He’s looking more like The Bont (Bontempelli) every day’.
“He continues to grow, he’s a lefty, he’s a midfielder, he’s got that step through the traffic and that acceleration that leaves them all floundering as he gets away.
“He’s a relatively light body that played out on the wing earlier in the season, then they stepped him into the midfield.
“To do that at AFL level would be a few more kilos on the body, so he might start as a wingman, but he looks to have the real potential to get on the inside.
“He’s certainly a top 10 selection, if we had of seen the whole year unfold, we only saw him play about six times, he might have been a genuine contender for the top billing, that’s how well he went.”
The AFL National Draft will be split over two nights, with the first round to be selected on November 24 and the following picks to be made on November 25.
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