U18s All-Australian Gus Teixeira is a likely top 10 pick for this year's AFL Draft despite a season heavily impacted by injury, with the Sandringham Dragons X-factor midfield-forward even flirting with Pick 1 contention during the year.
A series of leg injuries limited Teixeira's exposure across his commitments with the Dragons and St Kevin's, but the East Malvern native still managed to catch the eye with his explosiveness and creativity through midfield when given the chance.
A return from injury in a trial game for Vic Metro put Teixeira's name back in lights, cementing his spot in the rep side as he rose into top five prospect conversations.
Across his four-game carnival for Vic Metro, Teixeira averaged 17.0 disposals, 4.3 tackles, 4.0 inside 50s and 1.8 goals per game as a high-impact front half player at the U18s National Championships to earn Team of the Year honours.
Further injuries limited the tail end of Teixeira's draft campaign, meaning he missed the AFL Draft Combine and most of Sandringham's finals series to see out the year.
Nevertheless, the Chad Warner-like draft star could fetch a selection in the opening few spots of next week's AFL Draft, with Richmond, Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast among his most likely suitors.
Strengths
Power
Explosiveness
Scoreboard Impact
Draft Range
Picks 5-10
Likely Landing Spot(s)
Richmond
Sydney
Gold Coast
Melbourne
Key Quote
"He's powerful, quick, covers the ground well; he's a really good ball user by foot, so he's a prototype AFL midfielder." - Rob Harding.
