READ UP ON THE 2019 DRAFT CLASS

        Callum Twomey and Riley Beveridge from AFL.com.au profile some of the top draft prospects heading into the 2019 NAB AFL National Draft.

        SAM FLANDERS

        IT WAS half-time of Gippsland Power's qualifying final against the Oakleigh Chargers in the NAB League, and there was one name on the lips of every recruiter at Ikon Park.

        Sam Flanders, in a quarter, had rocketed himself into top-five contention at this year's NAB AFL Draft.

        The Gippsland Power midfielder had pieced together one of the standout terms of the under-18 season, booting four goals in a brilliant display.

        Flanders' season was consistent, full of very good games. But this was its peak, particularly coming against the highly-touted Chargers, including likely No.1 and 2 picks Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.

        "That quarter would probably be the best quarter I've played in a couple of years. It made it a lot more special because it was against good opposition, but you're coming into the game and you hear about big match-ups so to perform was good," Flanders told AFL.com.au. 

        "To show what I could do against them was really good. It was one of those quarters where everything was happening for me and I couldn't really do anything wrong."

        Gippsland lost that day in a tight contest, but Flanders was the talk of clubland.

        "It was the great game we were waiting for from him," one recruiter said.

        "He had a really good season, and he was more consistent, but perhaps he didn't have as many big highlights as he would've liked. That quarter really showed what he can do."

        Consistency became Flanders' mantra in 2019. The 18-year-old played mainly as a half-forward last season, where his spring, power and nous in tight helped make an impact around goal.

        This year saw him take those traits into the midfield and the former promising basketballer, who gave away that sport after playing for Victoria at under-16s level, flourished.

        He averaged 23 disposals and five tackles a game for Gippsland, and also won All Australian honours at the national carnival, after averaging 23 disposals and five clearances for Vic Country. 

        "I started off the carnival pretty slowly but to make the team at the end I was pretty rapt with that," he said.

        "Moving more into the midfield was massive for me. Last year I played more as a forward so that consistency to be able to play more in the midfield and play better games was good."

        Flanders is a player who enjoys being in the thick of the action. He's aggressive, combative and can be in the face of opposition.

        "I'm an explosive player, and sometimes I can play a little on the edge. There's pros and cons to that," he said.

        "I probably get reported every now and then. Sometimes I can let my emotions get to me, so I'm just trying to control that the best I can.

        "If I didn't play like that, and didn't have that emotion and care for the game and to play well, then I wouldn't be able to actually play consistently and go well."

        His athletic blend is also of appeal to clubs, who are weighing up where he sits inside the first 10 picks on draft night.

        Flanders' performances at the Draft Combine highlighted his athletic appeal, and he finished in the top 10 for the standing vertical jump (69cm), running vertical jump (88cm), agility (8.206 seconds) and in the Yo-Yo endurance test (level 21.3). 

        But it is Flanders' knack of impacting a game – be it a high mark, a bullocking passage in the midfield, a fend-off and run, or a goal from nothing – that stacks up most. 

        "I have the ability to change a game off my own boot and I think that separates me from a lot of kids in the draft," he said.

        LIAM HENRY

        When Liam Henry trained with Fremantle at the end of last year as a part of the Next Generation Academy program, the exciting talent saw it as a chance to impress. It quickly also turned into a promotional opportunity for his business.

        Henry, along with Christ Church Grammar School mates Dontay Bolton and Isaiah Butters (who is also tied to the Dockers' NGA), launched an online business last year selling indigenous-inspired ties designed by them as year 11 students. 

        The inspiration came during NAIDOC week in 2018, which had a theme focusing on the important role of indigenous women in communities. Since then, the ties have taken off. 

        "We called the business 'Tied to Culture' and we put indigenous dot paintings onto ties," Henry told AFL.com.au.

        "It started off as an art exhibition at school and the theme last year was 'Because of her, we can'. We thought we'd tie special stories of women in our life to a tie.

        "Then we'd call our exhibition 'Tied to her'. We made three ties and we sold them throughout the school. They went pretty well without any promotion or anything. We sat down in a room for an hour discussing how it could work and our indigenous coordinator jumped on board.

        "He helped us with all our financial parts. We ordered some ties and they went out pretty well."

        Henry initiated a purple tie being designed, and even asked Michael Walters and Bradley Hill to model them.

        Henry, who could attract a bid inside the first 20 picks at next month's NAB AFL Draft, grew up in Tammin, a small town east of Perth. It had a population of fewer than 1000, where there was 20 other kids in his school. 

        He left there for the city in year seven, joining Christ Church, and found adapting to the education a difficult but rewarding element of his move. "I knew if I stuck at it good things would happen," he said.

        That's been the case on and off the field, with Tied to Culture giving the 18-year-old a creative outlet and link to back home.

        "I love art, and how it connects to my culture. Obviously being away at boarding school I don't get home very often because of footy," he said.

        "So trying to find another way to connect to culture is very important in my life, and expressing that through my art is what I love doing."

        Henry also enjoys expressing himself on the park. The small forward is one of the best of his type in this year's draft crop: he's quick, exciting, talented, sharp and skilled. 

        He made the All Australian under-18 side after an eye-catching championships for Western Australia, and makes things happen with his classy ball use. He's also working on his repertoire of moves for after his goals.

        "I try bring a little bit of excitement to the game. My celebrations are pretty well drilled in," he said.

        "I celebrate my goals pretty well. All forwards and indigenous boys do that well in the AFL. I'm trying to work on [mine] at the moment. If I get the opportunity hopefully I'll be able to spice something up."

        Fremantle has first call on Henry as a member of its NGA zone, but the Dockers haven't given him any assurances on his future.

        "The NGA has brought out a bit of interest, but they haven't really told me much. They've said to just stick at it and if it falls that way then we'll know on the night. Hopefully it does, but if it doesn't, then all good," he said.

        "I don't really mind. The Dockers signed me up in year nine with their Next Generation Academy and my goal to make the AFL [came] before that. I don't really mind where I end up. I'd be lucky enough to get a spot at any club."

        CHARLIE COMBEN

        Meet the kid the scouts have started calling 'Mr Upside'.

        Charlie Comben hadn't played much footy before this season. That wasn't his choice, it was something forced upon him by a cruel and unavoidable string of unfortunate injuries.

        But when the 199cm key forward finally returned to the park earlier this year and began to get some much-needed game time under his belt, his raw talent and sheer athleticism came to the fore.

        Charlie Comben takes a big pack mark during the U18 Champs. Picture: AFL Photos

        Comben himself admits that he didn't grab every match by the scruff of its neck. Given the interruptions he's been forced to endure over the last three seasons, such inconsistency can be forgiven.

        But he did show enough to ensure he caught the eye of recruiters, with his marking and running ability from the forward line sparking the imagination of clubs in terms of what he could one day become.

        "I always knew I had it," Comben told AFL.com.au.

        "It was just reaching those expectations that I'd put on myself. I probably lay dormant for a little bit, missing a lot of time through injury, so having a good run at it this year has been good.

        "I saw a lot of rapid improvement over the first few rounds, then to play well over the Champs was a good experience."

        Such is his devastating injury history, the fact Comben even had the willingness to return to the field at all this season is a testament to his courage.

        Comben working hard in the 2km time trial at the Combine. Picture: AFL Photos

        As a 15-year-old, he played eight games before breaking his wrist. He returned, only to break his collarbone later in the season.

        The very next year he describes as "his worst year". He severely broke two parts of his inner cheekbone playing for the Gippsland Power, forcing him to spend more than half the season on the sidelines after having surgery.

        He eventually returned in May 2018, but not for long. Playing basketball at school, Comben landed awkwardly in an incident that left him with a broken tibia, a fractured knee cap and a dislocation of his knee cap.

        Comben snags a goal for Gippsland during the NAB League semi-final against the Jets. Picture: AFL Photos

         

        Repeated dislocations upon return resulted in yet more surgery and yet more time out of action.

        "It's been a long road back, but it's made me a better footballer," Comben said.

        "You do get a little bit nervous in those first few games coming back, but once you're out there the atmosphere takes over and you tend to forget about those type of things."

        In among the seemingly endless stints of rehab, the idea of simply letting go of his football dream flooded Comben's thoughts. But never for long.

        "Giving up does cross your mind," he said.

        "I found last year in particular very frustrating, not being able to do exactly what I want to do or play footy at any level. It was quite frustrating, but I kept that mindset of having a clear goal to get back to footy and I was able to work towards that.

        "It does cross your mind, but giving up was never something I genuinely considered."

        Comben sees himself as a key-forward at the next level, but able to pinch-hit through the ruck. However, he admits that he may have to rely more on his athleticism in a ruck role, rather than test his still slender 82kg frame to go up against the bigger bodies.

        At NAB League level, he's shown he can play both positions effectively. He demonstrated his forward craft with a three-goal game against Tasmania in July, while a performance against the Calder Cannons in May yielded 18 disposals and 22 hitouts from the ruck.

        However, it's not necessarily the numbers that have defined Comben's year. Rather, it's been the moments. Those moments were perhaps best delivered for Vic Country throughout the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

        Comben clunks the ball at the highest point during the U18 Champs

        Indeed, Comben therefore credits his Vic Country coach Leigh Brown – who himself reinvented and then perfected the ruck-forward role at AFL level – as a driver behind his improvement.

        Brown, in turn, thinks Comben can now replicate that success in the AFL from season 2020 and beyond.

        "He had a growth spurt and he's got elite hands, which means he can mark the footy," Brown told AFL.com.au.

        "He can play forward, he can play through the ruck. At the next level, he'll probably pinch-hit through the ruck. You can see him playing that Esava Ratugolea role, where he'll play mainly forward but with a little bit of time in the ruck.

        "He's athletic for a tall guy and he's got plenty of upside, given he's really raw."