For fans of struggling sides, the AFL Draft is as close to Christmas as possible.
Fresh faces act as shiny, new toys, with goodwill and cheer also available in abundance.
While every club has hit the track for their pre-Christmas training period and each of the new boys have filled their lockers with brand new gear, sights have turned to which of this year's draft class has the ability to make an early impact in 2022.
Although plenty of players plucked will need big summers in the gym, there are a handful of precocious talents that already have expectations on their shoulders.
Here are the names that look the most likely to hit the ground running in their debut years.
Melbourne -Â Blake HowesÂ
The Demons are stacked with solid key position players, which is why swingman Jacob Van Rooyen may have to bide his time before getting called up to the seniors.
However, Howes is an athletic option off half-back and could feature early in the 2022 season despite the high degree of difficulty breaking into a premiership-winning side.
