SOUTH Australian Aaron Francis or Victorian Darcy Parish could be prospects for Melbourne at pick No.6, according to AFL national and international talent manager Kevin Sheehan.

Speaking after the NAB AFL Draft Combine welcome at Etihad Stadium on Friday, Sheehan said the Demons had several exciting prospects at pick No.6, which is the club’s first selection – at the moment, before the trade period starts on Monday. 

Although he said key talls Josh Schache (Murray Bushrangers) and Jacob Weitering (Dandenong Stingrays) were likely to be taken before Melbourne’s first pick in the NAB AFL Draft – which will be held in Adelaide on Tuesday, November 24 – he said the Demons had plenty of outstanding options with their first selection.  

“You’d think [Victorian pair Josh] Schache and [Jacob] Weitering would be gone and that’s the way the clubs have analysed them. Maybe it’s an Aaron Francis, who could go at No.3, No.4 or No.5 or he may go earlier. But he’s one that’d be on the radar [for Melbourne at pick No.6],” he told Dee TV.

“He’s a boy from West Adelaide that starred for South Australia in the nationals and starred at either end of the ground. At 191cm, he is a boy who takes great intercept marks and is powerful and agile, and is a thumping kick. He kicked 4.5 in a game and took 12 marks down in defence in another [game].

“His performance on the board was quite spectacular and he’s played a little bit of senior footy already, so he’s got a big, strong mature body, so maybe, it’s an Aaron Francis.”

Sheehan said Parish, from Geelong Falcons, was an exciting 181cm tall ball winner.

“[Melbourne could look at] Darcy Parish, who is a bit like a Shane Crawford,” he said.

“He’s got the blonde hair and he flaps around, as he gets in and around the congested situation, around the stoppages. He racks up possessions and uses it so well by hand and foot.

“He can play across half-back or through the midfield, so they’re a couple of names to follow, because they’d be around that mark, but we’ll just see how it unfolds.”

Sheehan said midfielder/forward Jade Gresham (Northern Knights) could be a player Melbourne targets in the second to third rounds of the draft.  

“He captained the Knights. He is Indigenous and has come up through the Flying Boomerangs program. He’s had a brilliant year and is a prolific ball winner. He has a brilliant little side step and acceleration away from the stoppage,” he said.

“He could hit the stoppage as well, so he’s a player who has been talked about in the first round, so who knows where he might bob up.”

Tasmanian Kieran Lovell (Kingston Tigers) was another potential prospect in the second or third rounds, according to Sheehan.

“His performance on the board in the nationals was pretty special. He’s pretty small at 174cm, but he’s got elite agility and he might test super well in that this weekend,” he said.

“His trails over in Tassie were outstanding. In fact, he was almost world record pace for that AFL agility run.

“In the last game of the nationals, he actually stood on the shoulders in a one-on-one situation to take the mark of the championships, so there is a bit more than meets the eye initially.

“He’s a smaller player, but he’s got that spring and agility, and is a prolific ball winner, so it’ll be interesting to see where he goes, but he may well be there a bit later on.” 

This year, 80 players are at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, with more than 200 scouts at the event. Sheehan said the players will be analysed over the next three days “like nothing before”.

And he said Melbourne had two beauties from last year’s NAB AFL Draft Combine, highlighting midfielders Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw as outstanding draft choices.

“Angus Brayshaw had a great year and he did test well … he won the [under 16s] MVP for Vic Metro, but he didn’t seem to have the shape of an AFL player, but that did change over two years,” Sheehan said. 

“He’s a very disciplined young man who worked on his body and presented as quite a good athlete. In fact, his speed was quite elite, [although we] couldn’t see that when he was 16, but it was there.

“Once trained up, he had that yard that was needed and that was his skill set that really stood him apart from others. His skill set of reading the play magnificently and his use of the ball – both right and left – and by foot and hand made him special.

“I loved the fact that he was a star of the national championships. It was [Christian] Petracca and Brayshaw, who were ranked No.1 and No.2 in the best and fairest voting, right across the comp and you’ve (Melbourne) ended up with the pair in your football club. There is going to be exciting times ahead from both those boys.”