Canberra Giant's AFL draft stock rises as club scouts circle

The GWS Giants Academy and Queanbeyan Tigers product is tipped to be the top ruckman drafted in November, attracting a lot of buzz in the last few months.

Smith's strong performance in the recent AFL Under-18 National Championships for the Allies - a team combined with players from NSW, ACT, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania - turned the heads of All Australian selectors from the top clubs in the AFL.

The 204cm 17-year-old led the championships with 26 hitouts to advantages in four matches for the Allies.

He averaged 10.5 disposals and 21.5 hitouts and was scouted by experts as a "mobile ruckman whose craft around stoppages and ability to direct the ball to his team's advantage, as well as his follow up to physically support his team at ground level, were features of his game".

Smith has also already played in the VFL for the Giants, which has continued his rapid development.

With comparisons to Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy, Giants Academy coach Tadhg Kennelly was glowing about Smith's potential as a skillful ruckman in the AFL.

Smith's All Australian nod follows a positive week for AFL players in Canberra, with 11 men and eight women selected for the combined NSW/ACT team headed south to face Tasmania on Saturday for a representative game at UTAS Stadium.

The women's team will feature the sister of AFLW duo Lexi and Cynthia Hamilton, Queanbeyan Tigers' Jayde, who is expected to dominate in the middle alongside Ainslie's Olivia Fogarty.

Meanwhile, the men's team coached by Swans great Ryan O'Keefe will have a host of first grade stars from AFL Canberra's competition with Eastlake midfielder Alex Smout and Tigers centre-half forward Andrew Swan tipped to have big contributions.

"We realise it's going to be challenging to bring our groups together from Sydney and Canberra but are undaunted about taking on Tasmania on their own turf," O'Keefe said.

"We're rapt with the buy-in from the players and the support from AFL NSW/ACT."

Remember the name Logan Smith, because according to a Sydney Swans legend the former Queanbeyan Tigers ruckman is set to put Canberra footy on the AFL map again.

The capital has a proud legacy of producing top AFL and VFL talent, with GWS Giants midfielder Tom Green the most recent Canberran to become a household name in the sport.

Giant Josh Fahey was the last Canberran drafted to the AFL in 2021, and now fellow former Tigers junior Logan Smith promises to follow that same path.

"Logan will be the top prospect for ruckmen in the draft in November," former AFL star Tadgh Kennelly told The Canberra Times of the 204 centimetre-tall teenager.

"You'd think he'd go early.

"He's very athletic and extremely competitive. He can cover the ground really well and has that ability to run with an on-baller, but also the size and craft of a ruckman.

"There's two ways of recruiting ruckmen - either you draft them at 18 or you let other clubs draft them and poach them four years in, because they take time to develop.

"But with Logan's ability, we're pretty excited about him."

Kennelly made his name in AFL with the Swans, but now works as the head coach of the GWS Giants Academy, and one of his first major recruiting decisions since taking the role two years ago actually involved Smith.

"Logan wasn't in the development program when I started, but people develop at different stages, and Logan was one of them," Kennelly said.

"We had an open trial in Canberra for those not selected in the Academy previously, I saw him and I said, 'Right, you're in son'. He just took off from there.

"He actually ended up playing every game last year as a ruckman because I wanted to expose him to see how he can handle it, and it was no problem."

Smith's meteoric rise has taken even him by surprise, but the 17-year-old Erindale College student is now determined to see how far he can take his footy career.

"I still have to pinch myself how close I am and what I could achieve in these next few months," Smith said.

"It's clicked in that I could get drafted this year, but I'm still processing what that will be like. It's pretty overwhelming, but it would mean everything to me and my family.

"The last two years at the Academy have been great, and I'm so grateful of the opportunities they've given me.

"Last year my mindset was just playing footy for fun, and then towards the end of last season I realised this could actually be my thing and something that I could have a good crack at.

"It was all about confidence and that came from my coaches and parents."

Kennelly compared Smith's upside to ruck superstars in the AFL like Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy, while the youngster tries to model his game on versatile Saint Rowan Marshall.

"My dominance around the ruck and in centre bounces has been my main weapon, but I'm working on my follow-up to go for the ball straight away and have an impact around the ground," Smith said.

"Rowan Marshall can do it all and that's what I aspire to be like, trying to play like an extra midfielder."

Smith and fellow Academy player, Belconnen Magpies product Cooper Bell, were both standouts for the NSW/ACT Allies in the Under-18 National Championships recently.

Kennelley predicted the pair would play a big role at the tournament and he was proven right, as they've both starred for the Academy too.

Smith has averaged 18 touches and 27 hitouts in three matches for the Giants Academy this year, the ruckman is set to get his first VFL minutes, too.

That might be a daunting task for a high-schooler, but Kennelly believes Smith is ready, and it helps he's being mentored by one of the game's best former ruckmen - Giants assistant coach, Shane Mumford.

"It's a step up to the reserves, but Logan will be fine," Kennelly said.

"He'll be against bigger bodies, but that's something he'll have to get used to.

"Mummy [Mumford] chats to Logan and they go through vision together, so they have a good relationship there.

"Logan was able to train with the senior program in the first week in January too, which helped him build a connection with senior players and it all helps his development."