Talented Central Australian Ricky Mentha has been invited to attend this year's AFL State Draft Combine after a strong season in the Coates Talent League.
The 17-year-old has caught the eye of AFL recruiters after producing consistent form for the Gippsland Power across his ten games so far this season.
He recently produced a 22-disposal best-on-ground performance against the Western Jets in tricky conditions at Williamstown and backed it up with two goals last week against Greater Western Victoria.
Power coach Rhett McLennan told SEN's Fridays in the Top End that he was "stoked" for his young player and highlighted his versatility as a footballer.
"He's been down here since about this time last year and his initial form was sensational coming down from Alice Springs," McLennan said.
"He's plied his trade as a small forward and played a little bit of wing.
"At the start of this year we rolled him into the midfield a little bit, he played the National Carnival with the Allies as a wing-high half forward, and the last couple of weeks we've swung him down back, where he's played as a running defender.
"His form has been sensational, so he's coming good at the right time of the year to get his name in front of recruiters."
Earlier in the year, Mentha produced an eye-catching performance for the AFL Academy in their match against VFL team Coburg.
He has averaged just under 13 disposals per game for the Power, but has been valuable for the team with his ability to impact the match from virtually any position on the ground.
"He's got really good goal nous, great evasive skills and is a beautiful kick of the football," McLennan added.
"What we've discovered with him as a defender is his ability to run and receive the football and put speed on the play and hit targets consistently coming out of defensive-50."
Mentha's playing style has reminded his coach of a current Melbourne Demons star and former Adelaide Crows champion.
"I think at the start of the year, from what we'd seen last year as a small forward, he was very Kozzy Pickett-like in regard to his dancing feet and the way he was able to give himself some space," McLennan said.
"With the way that he has been able to run and carry the football, there's a little bit of late-90s Andrew McLeod about him.
"Now they're two unbelievable footballers and we don't want to put too much pressure on Ricky.
"Just from a style point of view you can see there's a little bit of McLeod as a defender in the way that he runs and moves and delivers the football, and he can evade tacklers when he's running at good pace."
McLennan said Mentha still had plenty of improvement in him as a footballer and highlighted his physicality as an area to work on.
However he was confident the silky-skilled utility had enough ability for an AFL club to draft him into their system.
"From an offensive point of view, absolutely," he said.
"I think he's got enough talent and enough attributes there for an AFL club to nurture and enhance and bring them into their game plan, whichever that club may be."
