AFL Draft prospect Jack Dalton has been one of the big risers in the second half of the season.
Despite a stacked resume dating back to taking out the Vic Metro U16s MVP in 2023 and included playing in Sandringham's 2025 premiership, there was some conjecture about exactly where he sat midway through the season.
He missed the first half of 2025 due to a freak accident which broke his arm, and used the time to study two time Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale and improve other areas of himself to round him off as an athlete.
The same height as Neale, there are some clear comparisons between the pair and Dalton has been able to showcase what he's learned plus more since returning to the field mid-year.
He had an impact at the U18s National Championships despite limited preparation and has relished a full time midfield role for Sandringham, going at 28 disposals and six tackles per game.
“I like the comparison as an inside mid with Lachie Neale as an inside mid,” Sandringham coach Rob Harding said.
“We watched a bit of vision of Lachie earlier in the year with him and Lachie's so smart with how he gets from contest to contest and Jack is a high, high end runner and can cover the ground enormously but learning to cover the ground smart is a bit of what he was able to take out of watching Lachie Neale's stuff.
“I think clubs are working out with Jack what he can do at AFL level, clearly inside mid is one option, he's got the running power to be a wingman as we saw last year with us.”
While his running power underpins his game and gives Dalton the versatility to play in several positions, the area of his game that has been questioned is his kicking.
Harding has seen a clear uptick in that area of his game in 2025.
“His composure with ball in hand is what's gone through the roof in the last four to five weeks,” Harding said.
“We spoke a lot about looking short and trying to hit shorter targets and he's a nice neat kick technically and through the back end of pre-season we were going to work on it before the injury but we've just had a chance to start doing it now.
“He's very coachable Jack, he comes every week, does edits with me, is right across his game, knows what he's doing and he's seen the benefits of using the ball better in transition.
“When he can get one two three four possessions in a chain to use his running power to run and overlap, I think that's been the bit of his game that's grown most on-field.
“Technically I think he's quite nice kick, it's just been a matter of doing it on the run and when you run as hard as he does, being able to hit the nice neat one.”
Dalton is now viewed as a player who could push up into the 30s of the AFL National Draft following that rich vein of form.
He had 23 disposals and nine tackles in the Coates League grand final on Saturday to close his junior career.
