By Jonty Ralphsmith
Five Gippsland Power players and three Dandenong Stingrays are among the 67 players invited to the NAB AFL Draft Combine.
Held from Friday 7 October until Sunday 9 October, national combine invitation indicates the young talent that is viewed as being among the leading prospects for 2022’s draft pool.
The players will be interviewed by clubs, undergo medical screenings and take part in physical tests such as a 20-metre sprint and two-kilometre time trial.
From Gippsland, Bailey Humphrey, Jacob Konstanty (Drouin), Coby Burgiel (Maffra), Max Knobel (Maffra) and Coopery Vickery (Bairnsdale) will all test.
Humphrey has returned from a knee injury with a bang in the last two weeks, threatening to tear the game apart in the first quarter on the weekend, after recording four goals and 30 possessions the previous week.
Konstanty is a pressure forward that has kicked at least one goal in 10 of his 11 NAB League games.
Burgiel has averaged 23 possessions and more than three shots on goal per game, whilst Knobel has been a dominant ruckman all year and Vickery has been a steady presence in the back half for the teams he plays for.
For Dandenong, Henry Hustwaite (Rosebud), Jaxon Binns (Berwick) and Mitch Szybkowski (Beaconsfield) were invited.
Hustwaite is a clean, strong and composed midfielder that has shown positional versatility and Binns’ standout game this season was a 33 disposal effort for Vic Country.
For the players that missed out on an invitation to the national combine, they may still get to test at the Victorian state combine, which will be held separately on a different date.
