Possibly a forgotten prospect who could be among the first few names selected at next month's AFL Draft, South Australian talent Jevan Phillipou has earned plenty of praise from his U18s captain.
Phillipou's draft campaign was littered with dominant performances for the Woodville-West Torrens U18s, while he also featured in the Eagles' senior side on six occasions.
At the junior level, Phillipou averaged 22.7 disposals, 4.9 clearances and a goal per game as an explosive, well-balanced midfielder.
A broken arm would force Phillipou to miss this year's U18s National Championships, which South Australia dominated in style, winning four games from as many matches.
The injury, while untimely, did little to hamper Phillipou in his return, with the right-footer going at 28 disposals and two goals per game in his first three matches back from a lengthy layoff.
| 18 RANK |  | Jevan Phillipou Woodville-West Torrens Midfielder HEIGHT: 183cm | â–¶+ |
The brother of Saints young gun Mattaes and the son of former Bulldog Sam, Phillipou's stocks were hardly impacted by his absence at the U18s National Championships.
Speaking on a fellow midfield bull, Croweaters captain Dyson Sharp lauded Phillipou's "unconditional effort", labelling him as "someone that you definitely want on your side".
"He's definitely a competitor. You know what you're going to get from 'Jev,'" Sharp said on Friday.
"He's going to go in and just be a hard nut. He's really good at running, really great overhead, and can kick on both feet.
"He's someone that you definitely want on your side, because you just know what you're going to get out of him at the end of the day, and that's just unconditional effort, which is exactly what you want from your players."
Phillipou is firmly in contention as a potential top 10 draft pick despite not featuring at the U18s National Championships, with perhaps only Pick 1 contender Zeke Uwland and bolter Sullivan Robey the only other names who are in a similar position.
Having come up against the hard-nosed ball-winner, Sharp said having Phillipou helping SA on their way to an undefeated carnival from the sidelines played a role in the team's success.
"He didn't play, but he was always at our trainings and rocked up to our games," Sharp said.
"It was just amazing to have him just around the group, passing on his strengths to the younger guys as well.
"So although he didn't play, he was still a massive part of our success this year."
Phillipou will get his final chance to impress AFL recruiters this weekend as the draft's best undergo testing and interviews for the combine.
