Brett Peake hadn’t been playing alongside teenager Patrick Farrant for very long before he realised his young teammate was something special.

By his own admission, the former Fremantle and St Kilda wingman has been around football a long time.

But he had never seen anyone quite like Farrant until he joined him at the Bunbury Bulldogs in the South West Football League this season.

“I’ve seen no one his age do the things that he can do without the preparation,” Peake said.

“He’s an unknown and he’s just got natural, raw ability that I’ve never seen.

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“When the opposition are trying to stop a 17-year-old in league footy, that’s enough to tell you he is having an impact.”

When Farrant’s name appeared on a list of 20 West Australians invited to October’s State AFL draft combine, some were surprised. But not Peake, who had already pushed his case to some of his contacts.

“I do know some recruiters and some people obviously still higher up and I did mention while having a coffee with them: ‘I’m playing with this genuine freak down in the country that, if it was me, I would draft him and give him a go’,” Peake said.

Camera Icon Patrick Farrant looms as a WA smoky for this year’s draft. Credit: South Western Times

“Sometimes you don’t have to have the State 16s, 18s pathway.

“You can do it other ways.

“I think that’s how a lot of good footballers get missed.”

Farrant is still lightly framed, but stands at about 185cm and is likely to keep growing.

“To take contested marks the way he does against grown men who have been in football a long period of time, he’s got so much upside with the weights and the running and having a conditioning coach and all that,” Peake said.

Farrant has booted nine goals in three colts games for Swans this year and has agreed to play the remaining two home-and-away games before rejoining Bunbury for finals.

“He has elite skills both feet, both hands. He’s just got a gift, he just knows what he’s going to do with the footy long before anyone else in the room knows,” Swans talent manager Steve Thomson said.

Thomson believes Farrant’s younger brother Jayen, who will be eligible for the draft next year, could be even more exciting, likening him to former St Kilda champion Nicky Winmar.