READ UP ON THE 2019 DRAFT CLASS

      Callum Twomey and Riley Beveridge from AFL.com.au profile some of the top draft prospects heading into the 2019 NAB AFL National Draft.

      TRENT BIANCO

      As of December, Lazy Moe's restaurant in Oakleigh will need to readjust its waiter rosters. The eatery is about to lose one of its staff.

      Trent Bianco, whose dad Frankie runs the family business, has been serving tables, taking orders, clearing plates – "… and all that sort of stuff," he said – throughout this year. 

      He finished school at Marcellin College last year, meaning he had time this season to focus on his football, plus put in plenty of shifts. It has worked out well – Bianco could be a top-20 pick in just over two weeks when the NAB AFL Draft is held at Marvel Stadium. Plus, the boss is happy.

      "I usually start at work at about 10.30 in the morning. Or maybe 11, Dad's pretty generous," Bianco told AFL.com.au.

      "I've been pretty steady with the plates. That's the one thing that goes through my head: just don't drop the plates. Nothing too horrendous has happened, though.

      "I've had a few people in there follow my footy this year and regulars who have watched me for a few years now, which is pretty cool in a way." 

      Bianco has European blood – his dad is Italian and his Mum's Croatian – but he has always harboured ambitions to play the Australian game, since he fell in love with Collingwood at a young age. He trained there earlier this year, just part of a season jam-packed with highlights for the 18-year-old.  

      The midfielder, considered one of the best kicks and decision-makers in this year's pool, used his gap year to hone his football. He would leave work at 3pm, head a couple of minutes away to the Oakleigh Chargers' NAB League ground and prepare for training.

      As captain of the Chargers, Bianco wanted to set an example, being one of the first to arrive, and have a thorough preparation routine. It tended to work out. 

      "It was definitely a good thing for me to have a year off school, without a doubt. It's got me in a really good head space where I didn't overthink footy too much and made for a really good balance for me," he said. 

      "I was pretty pleased with my year. Going into the season I didn't have too many expectations on myself, I was pretty open-minded and just tried to stay in the present and not think too far into the future. 

      "I think I did that pretty well and put some consistent games on the board." 

      Bianco never really hit a flat patch throughout 2019. Early in the year he picked up 42 disposals for the Chargers, and then at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships he was shifted to half-back for Vic Metro. 

      He averaged 18 disposals in four games and grew into the carnival, using his brilliant vision to set up the game from the back half. After the carnival he returned to lead the Chargers, finishing the season averaging 27 disposals and as the skipper of their premiership team. 

      "I like to get up and down the ground and use my running as a strength," he said.

      "I was always a midfielder growing up. The last few years I've played down back, but I'd much rather be up around the ball. That's where I prefer to play for sure, it's where I think I can impact more and help the team." 

      It's where Bianco shone in the Chargers' finals series – a relatively hard task in itself, given some of the company he kept throughout the year. 

      Playing in the same team – and midfield – as likely top-two picks Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson means it is easy to go a little unnoticed. Bianco made sure that didn't happen in the final month of his season though.

      He started his campaign with 24 disposals and a goal in the qualifying final, before 27 touches and five inside 50s in the preliminary final. 

      Bianco gets a kick away during the NAB League qualifying final against Gippsland Power. Picture: AFL Photos

      Then, in the Grand Final win over the Eastern Ranges, Bianco gathered 29 disposals and 10 marks to lead his side to a premiership win, a year after he played in Oakleigh's Grand Final loss to Dandenong. 

      "It's an honour to captain such a talented and good group. It was an unreal feeling when that siren went and everyone got together. It was such a relief in potentially our last game of junior footy. To hold up that cup was special," he said. 

      Bianco's ball use throughout the finals stood out, using both his preferred right foot and non-preferred left to spot targets, open up space, deliver to teammates and make things happen. The 178cm prospect only needs a look, or a flash in the corner of his eye, to make the right call with the ball in his hands.

      It's why the likes of Richmond, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide and Geelong have all been linked to Bianco in the first 20 picks on draft night. For now, Bianco will patiently wait. Lazy Moe's might have taught him that skill.

      "There's not much more I can do now," he said. "It's been a very long road and I'm really looking forward to what's next."

      CODY WEIGHTMAN

      Head of the NAB AFL Draft Combine, Cody Weightman obtained a vertical jumping test and practised at home, pushing himself to perfect his technique and leap higher by the time he tested in front of clubs. 

      He ended up finishing fifth in the test at the Combine, jumping 69cm (but felt he could have gone even higher).

      Weightman is a draft prospect who will do everything he can to improve. That's been central to his rise this year into top-15 calculations, and a key factor to his development as a player.

      Everywhere you look in his background you find examples of the 18-year-old's determined approach.

      Earlier this season, after spraying a couple of kicks at goal late in his school side Haileybury College's loss to Caulfield Grammar, Weightman headed back out to the field after the game and practised his set shots by himself. 

      The Dandenong Stingrays prospect has done extracurricular running and sprinting sessions, and this year saw the benefits after winning All Australian honours at the under-18 carnival and firming as one of the leading small forwards in the pool.

      "To get drafted has been my goal for ages. My whole life, basically. I would be absolutely over the moon. I don't know how I'd feel on the night if that does happen," Weightman told AFL.com.au. 

      The photos on Cody Weightman's bedroom wall say a lot - he loves to go surfing to take his mind off footy.

      "Fingers crossed it does and I'd be able to experience that.

      "It's always been my goal so naturally you have to dedicate parts of your life to it to make sure you give yourself the best chance to be there. It might be limiting your social life a little bit and … the whole way through you might not do things that your peers might do.

      "To be able to get that chance and know that the dedication [came off] and when you're thinking 'Is this worth it?' along the way, if it does pay off it'll be really rewarding."

      Weightman can lose the if. Now it's just a matter of where. Melbourne has been linked to the exciting goalkicker, particularly after its failed chase of Collingwood star Jamie Elliott, while Geelong and Gold Coast will also consider him with their first-round picks, with Weightman invited to the opening night of the draft. 

      Weightman grew up idolising Elliott, and feels he can also play in a similar way as a small forward who is a threat in the air.

      "Hopefully I can fulfill a small forward role and be able to play a bit taller and smaller in the same position, and hopefully have a bit of flair," he said.

      "I'm starting to get better at that pressure side of my game so hopefully that can develop into a strength over the next few seasons."

      Weightman's drive is noted among clubs who have watched him progress this season, but perfecting his golf game and hitting the surf are pastimes that have taken his mind off footy during a busy year.

      "I'm a bit of a 'footy head' but it can become too much when you start to get into the rigours of it," he said.

      "In previous years I would've known most players on every list and would watch nine games [each week] religiously, but this year I haven't been able to hit those key indicators. I've had to back it off a bit and get away from it a little bit."

      Celebrating a goal for Vic Country at this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.