Northern Knights midfielder Jade Gresham proves a standout at AFL Draft Combine

NORTHERN Knights’ star midfielder Jade Gresham has put himself in the frame to be a top-30 selection at next month’s National Draft after impressive results at the AFL National Draft Combine.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 10: Jade Gresham poses for a portrait during the 2015 AFL Draft Combine at Etihad Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

NORTHERN Knights’ star midfielder Jade Gresham has put himself in the frame to be a top-30 selection at next month’s National Draft after posting impressive results at the AFL National Draft Combine earlier this month.

The 18-year-old was one of the standouts across the four days of testing at Etihad Stadium, performing strongly in the fitness testing and blitzing the skills tests.

Gresham logged 14.1 in the beep test, covered 3km in 11min 15 sec and finished in the top 22 per cent of those tested in the agility runs.

He was one of only four players that recorded a perfect 30 out of 30 in the goalkicking test and ranked among the top 20 per cent of players in both the kicking and clean hands tests, with scores of 21 and 26 out of 30 respectively.

The results came on the back of a near-perfect year for Gresham, who captained the Northern Knights, won Vic Metro’s MVP at the AFL Under-18 National Championships, collected the Knights’ best-and-fairest and won the TAC Cup Coaches’ Award while finishing second in the league’s Morrish Medal count.

Northern Knights talent manager Peter Kennedy said the club was confident Gresham’s stellar year would be recognised with a high selection at the November 24 National Draft, drawing comparisons to former Knight Nathan Hrovat who was taken by the Western Bulldogs in 2012.

“As well as performing on the field, he’s performed well off the field and you’d hope that would come into consideration when clubs are making their decisions,” Kennedy said of Gresham.

“Nathan Hrovat probably had an almost identical year to Jade.

“He captained the Knights, won our best-and-fairest and won the MVP for Vic Metro and was All-Australian.

“He went pick 21. So it depends on the clubs, what they’re looking for.

“But we’re hoping Jade will be picked up in the 20s. Who knows, someone might pick him up earlier. But we think he’s a good chance to be taken in the 20s.”

Western Bulldogs father-son prospect Darcy MacPherson was another standout at the combine, recording a level 14.8 beep test, placing in the top 10 per cent in agility testing and recording 28 out of 30 in the clean hands test and 22 out of 30 in the kicking test.

Brayden Fiorini and Tyrone Leonardis were other Knights to attend the national combine.