AFL TALENT guru Kevin Sheehan says Jack Darling (West Perth), Josh Caddy (Northern Knights), Jed Lamb (Gippsland Power), Billy Smedts (Geelong Falcons) and Shaun Atley (Murray Bushrangers) loom as possible picks for Melbourne at No.12.

Sheehan, the AFL national and international talent manager, suggested those five players could be in Melbourne’s thinking or around the half-a-dozen mark when it has its first pick in the NAB AFL Draft on November 18.

He said it was difficult to know exactly who would slip through to Melbourne at No.12, given Gold Coast dominates the first round of this year’s draft.

“The cards are controlled by Gold Coast. They’re giving very little away,” Sheehan told melbournefc.com.au.

“They have the first three picks and then five, seven, nine, 11 and 13 - so they’re not giving anything away, because if they were to flag who they are after, then someone else might enquire a bit more.

“That’s the nature of this draft and there is a great group of players through to 20.”

Sheehan said Darling is the most intriguing prospect of the first round.

“Darling’s the interesting one. He had a fantastic 2009 and a good 2010, but because he set the bar so high, people expected him to dominate in his 18th year,” he said.

“He played well for Western Australia and wasn’t far away from the best 30 in the national championships.

“He was one brilliant game away from being back-to-back All-Australian, but he remains a first-round draft choice.”

Sheehan on possible Melbourne (No.12) draft prospects

Jack Darling: Darling had a fractured skull and bruising of the brain from an off-incident this year. He is a third tall, marking option. He is also a 400m and 800m athlete with great spring and defensive pressure, so he might well prove to be around the [No.12] mark and might prove to be a bargain around that mark.

Josh Caddy: He missed the first two national championship games due to injury, but he dominated the next three. All-Australian honours were well earned and he’s an inside, tough, contested footy winner in the midfielder, who can push forward and kick goals. He’s tested well and that’s enhanced his reputation. Any footy club would love to have him.

Jed Lamb: He’s probably the smartest goalkicker of the medium variety in the draft pool. He’s kicked 40-plus goals last year and about the same number this year. He kicks the brilliant goal from the boundary and from outside 50.

Billy Smedts: He’s an interesting one. He was injured early in the national championships, but early in the year for the Geelong Falcons, he was playing as a medium forward and kicking bags of five. Late in the year, he played as a very composed defender. He tested extremely well this morning with his speed. At either ends or through the midfielder, this youngster from the Geelong Falcons is a top 20 choice.

Shaun Atley: He’s an All-Australian and his trick is his step and his acceleration - his ability to get through traffic is special. He’s a half-back or inside midfielder - he can play all of those roles.