Each week, ESPN.com.au AFL draft expert Christopher Doerre - aka Knightmare - casts his eye over the country's best junior footballers to give readers an early insight into the next generation of AFL stars.

As well as attending live games, Doerre pores through match vision, analyses the stats and talks to industry sources to ensure he can offer the most insightful draft analysis.

Aside from the weekly wrap, Doerre will also unveil his power rankings at the end of each month.

And as we get closer to November's national draft, Doerre will also predict who goes where with his annual phantom draft.

1. How is the top-end quality in this year's AFL draft?

There are a clear top-five-to-10 prospects who are highly regarded.

With key position prospect Will Sutherland choosing cricket ahead of football, and the other highly regarded talls only performing inconsistently to this point in the season, the majority of those selected early are expected to be midfielders or midfielders who can push forward.

2. Who are the players in contention for pick one?

Cameron Rayner is the early favourite. His playing style resembles Dustin Martin - Rayner has similar size, strength and impact forward of centre to the Richmond star. He also possesses the capability to push through the midfield and make a difference at stoppages with his contested-ball winning.

Cameron Rayner Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images

Ball-winning midfielders Luke Davies-Uniacke, Adam Cerra and Paddy Dow are all firmly in the mix. Key position player Jarrod Brander, tall utility Darcy Fogarty, tall outside runner Jayden Stephenson and sub-180cm midfielder and forward dynamo Jack Higgins are others likely to be considered with the first overall selection and the next few choices.

Adam Cerra (with ball) possesses excellent composure under pressure. Paul Kane/Getty Images

3. How deep does this draft go?

Most years, recruiters will have a draft board of 50 players they would feel satisfied with selecting in the national draft or as rookies. This year that number may be closer to 40 for some clubs, with the depth considered below average this year.

One dynamic at play this year is an unusually high variation on draft boards. It is likely that several clubs with late picks will find players they rate inside their top 30s may still be available as we reach selections in the 50s and 60s.

4. Which clubs hold the strongest hand in this year's draft?

Brisbane, St Kilda and Gold Coast have some of the strongest hands in this year's draft.

Brisbane not only hold their own first picks in the first and second round but also possess Port Adelaide's first round selection (currently pick 14).

St Kilda showed great foresight in an exchange of picks with Hawthorn last trade period, securing Hawthorn's first round pick. Meaning the Saints, still holding their own first round selection, may enter this year's draft with two top 10 draft choices.

Gold Coast, with their own first round choice and four second round selections, possess a lot of flexibility coming into this year's AFL draft with five selections to come within the top 35.

5. Who increased their draft stocks during the National Under-18 Championships?

Bendigo midfielder Paddy Dow was one of the big risers after excelling for Victoria Country. His contested-ball winning, acceleration and clean kicking were all highlights.

Paddy Dow in action during the U18 AFL Championships. Michael Dodge/Getty Images

West Australian key forward Oscar Allen has rocketed into first round contention after winning the Larke Medal, as the best player at the Under-18 championships.

South Australian key defender Harrison Petty was one of the surprise packets during the championships. He took intercept marks, used the ball cleanly and won one-on-one contests. Petty is firmly in the draft mix and looks a likely mid-draft consideration.

Victoria Metro key defender Oscar Clavarino also showed notable improvement down back. He has transformed his game from shutdown specialist in 2016 to an effective intercept mark. Clavarino looks a probable first or second round selection on form.

6. Whose draft stocks dipped during the National Under-18 Championships?

With a disappointing under-18 championships, Darcy Fogarty failed to live up to hype, struggling for impact. After the tall utility was considered a possible top selection, he is no longer a certain top five choice.

Key position player Jarrod Brander and Brisbane Academy tall Connor Ballenden were both less consistent than hoped during the under-18 titles. With Will Sutherland choosing cricket over AFL, their drop may not be as significant as it might have been. Nonetheless, both have dropped from potential top three selections at the start of the year, to projected top 10 and top 20 picks respectively now.

Connor Ballenden of the Allies gets a kick away during the match against Vic Metro in July, 2017. Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Victoria Metro forward Jack Petruccelle was another to have an underwhelming championships. Many believed Petruccelle to be a possible first round choice with his noteworthy athleticism and contested-ball winning. Expectations have since been tempered with mild production during the under-18 championships, with most now placing him in the second to third round range.

7. Who are the potential father-son selections, and where could they be taken?

Adelaide: Jackson Edwards (midfielder - son of Tyson - first to second round)

Collingwood: Tyler Brown (midfielder - son of Gavin, rookie chance)

Hawthorn: Devlin Brereton (forward - son Dermott - rookie chance)

Richmond: Patrick Naish (midfielder/forward - son of Chris - first round)

Of the possible father-son choices, Naish and Edwards are the standouts. Naish as a classy outside type with speed while Edwards is a high-volume midfield accumulator.

Brown, as a classy midfielder, and Brereton as a speedy forward, if considered may be looked at as rookies.

8. Who are the Northern Academy and Next Generation Academy players in the mix?

Northern Academy

Brisbane: Connor Ballenden (key position player/ruckman - first to second round), Jack Clayton (midfielder - late draft chance)

Gold Coast: Brayden Crossley (ruckman - second to third round), Jacob Dawson (midfielder - late draft chance), Harry Simington (midfielder - late draft chance)

GWS: Jack Powell (midfielder - late draft chance), Nicholas Shipley (midfielder - late draft chance), Doultan Langlands (defender/midfielder - late draft chance), Nathan Richards (ruck - rookie chance), Brandan Myers (midfielder - rookie chance), Alex Paech (key position prospect - rookie chance)

Next Generation Academy

Carlton: Ethan Penrith (utility - late draft chance)

Hawthorn: Changkuoth Jiath (utility - late draft chance), Tony Olango (ruck - rookie chance)

Ballenden and Crossley are the two standout Northern Academy prospects. Ballenden is a key position player and ruckman who is a strong contested mark. Crossley is a powerful ruckman, possessing similar attributes to GWS big man Shane Mumford with his size and the way he follows up and wins ground balls after the ruck contest.

Of the Next Generation Academy players, Ethan Penrith of indigenous heritage and Changkuoth Jiath of African heritage are the two most likely to be selected. Penrith's speed and tackling energy is exciting while Jiath is an athletic type possessing versatility and clean skills.

9. Who are the most likely mature age recruits?

NEAFL: Adam Sambono (forward), Jack Rolls (midfielder), Jordan Keras (midfielder), Mitch Maguire (midfielder/forward), Andrew Boston (midfielder), Jordan Harper (midfielder)

SANFL: Jonty Scharenberg (midfielder), Jake Comitogianni (midfielder/forward), Nick Holman (midfielder), Jordan Sweet (ruckman)

WAFL: Brayden Ainsworth (midfield), Tim Kelly (midfielder/forward), Bailey Banfield (midfield), Jonathon Marsh (tall utility), Haiden Schloithe (midfielder/forward), Jye Bolton (midfielder), Liam Ryan (forward), Ben Sokol (forward)

VFL: Alexander Boyse (forward), Brett Bewley (defender/midfielder)

TAC Cup: Callan Wellings (midfielder), Ben Paton (defender), Hamish Brayshaw (midfielder), Lloyd Meek (ruckman), Ned Reeves (ruckman/key forward), Daniel Stanford (forward), Mason De Wit (defender), Thomas Murphy (utility), Naish McRoberts (midfielder/forward), Ari Sakeson (defender)

Some predict, with limited depth and varied levels of optimism about this year's draft class, that there will be an above average number of mature age and overage prospects selected this year as late draft or rookie choices. This recruiting strategy is lower risk, with the players generally more proven against state league competition and likely to be able to contribute from season one.

Northern Territory forward Adam Sambono, 20, who participated for the Allies during the Under-18 Championships as a super-fast crumbing forward, made a significant impression on recruiters during the first half of the season.

West Australia's speedy, ball-winning midfielder Tim Kelly, 23, will appeal as a ready-to-go midfielder.

Brett Bewley, 22, a precise, long kicking half-back/wing for Williamstown at 185cm is damaging, efficient and has the production on the board.

Alex Boyse, 23, has been exceptional for Essendon's VFL side. He leads their goalkicking, with 22 goals from 12 games. Boyse is a strong marking forward who at 190cm also pushes up the field.

10. What does next year's draft look like?

The 2018 draft is expected to be stronger than the 2017 version, with much stronger top-end strength and greater depth overall. The key differences appear to be a greater variety of speedy and skilful outside types and more quality players outside Victoria.

Among the players eligible to be drafted in 2017 who have shown considerable early promise: Jack Lukosius (South Australian - key forward), Izak Rankine (South Australian - midfielder/forward), Bailey Williams (Victoria - ruckman/key forward), Ian Hill (Western Australian - midfielder/forward), Max King (Victoria - key forward), Ben King (Victoria - key defender), Thomas Berry (Victoria - midfield), Nicholas Blakey (NSW - key forward is the son of John - eligible to join Brisbane or North Melbourne as a father-son or Sydney through their Academy), Tarryn Thomas (Tasmania - midfielder - eligible to join North Melbourne via their Next Generation Academy), Samuel Walsh (Victoria - midfielder) and Connor Rozee (South Australian - midfielder/forward) are among the top prospects.