West Australian prospect Reuben Ginbey is generating plenty of buzz as we approach Monday’s National Draft.
AFL Talent Analyst Mick Ablett believes a combination of his combine testing and his year at East Perth has teams attempting to jump into the top 10 to take him.
Ablett believes Ginbey could be in the mix as early as Essendon’s pick four.
“The one that is going to really generate some interest is Reuben Ginbey, the young man from East Perth,” Ablett told SEN WA.
“There are clubs clambering for this young fella. He’s come a long, long way across the course of the season.
“He had an outstanding season playing senior football at East Perth, had a fantastic under 18 championships and then he came out and absolutely blitzed the combine testing.
“He ran a 2.92 for the 20-metre sprint and backed it up with a six minute 15 second 2km trial. His speed and endurance combination is extraordinary.
“It’s very interesting to see where he lands. Whether he’s in the mix for Gold Coast’s pick, I’m sure Essendon will be looking at him and no doubt if he gets through those couple of picks you’ve got Hawthorn and Geelong in the mix as well.”
West Coast, who hold pick eight as things stand, are also interested in trading up if they can land the local boy.
“There’s a bit to play out. There’s some talk around the traps that some clubs outside the top 10 are pushing very hard to get into the top 10 and are putting deals to those teams in the 4-7 range to break into that space,” Ablett said.
“My mail is there is a whisper around that even West Coast are exploring an option of pushing a little bit higher up the draft in the hope of nabbing him before someone else.
“If he’s not there at the Eagles’ pick eight or nine, there’s still some exceptional talent and exciting prospects.”
West Coast’s list manager Rohan O’Brien told SEN WA on Tuesday that picking local talent was usually the “better outcome” for them.