Nick Blakey has chosen Sydney as his preferred club after going through Swans Academy

ACADEMY and father-son prospect Nick Blakey has chosen Sydney as his preferred club, joining Callum Mills and Isaac Heeney as graduates of the club’s pipeline of academy talent.

Nick Blakey in action for the Allies in the national under-18 championships.

NICK Blakey will play at Sydney as another star in the making, joining Callum Mills and Isaac Heeney in the club’s pipeline of academy talent.

The 196cm midfielder has an extraordinary upside given his capacity to play through the midfield or be used as a roaming key forward.

BLAKEY: THREE-CLUB FIGHT FOR YOUNG GUN

He was eligible to play at Sydney as an academy player or Brisbane or North Melbourne given father John Blakey’s 135 games at Fitzroy and 224 at the Kangaroos.

He has nominated the Swans, who will have to bid for him under AFL rules as a likely top-three pick.

Nick Blakey in action for the Allies during the national under-18 championships.

The Lions were so sure he would pick Sydney they did not make a genuine bid for his services, while Roos CEO Carl Dilena told the Herald Sun last month he believed Blakey would choose the Swans.

North Melbourne will select Tasmanian midfielder Tarryn Thomas with a likely top-10 pick, with the silky onballer linked to them through their Next Generation Academy.

Heeney was taken at pick No.18 by the Swans in the 2014 draft before the current bidding system came in, with Mills taken at pick No.3 in 2015.

Melbourne clubs hope to recruit the sons of Scott West, Craig Kelly, Dustin Fletcher, Robert Scott and Billy Brownless at November’s draft.

Under AFL rules a player must have resided in a club’s zone for five years to be eligible to be taken by its academy.

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