THE DIVISION one NAB AFL Under-18 Championships have been run and won (by Vic Metro), but what does it all mean for this year's draft pool?

The carnival generally provides a good picture of the overall pool, and most clubs will spend the next few days setting up their own orders and working out which prospects to hone in on during the second half of the season.

Here's a few of the talking points to come out of this season's national championships.

1. Who pushed themselves up the draft order?
Andrew McGrath is the first name that comes to mind in this category. The rebounding half-back shut down some influential players across the championships but also became a star himself, moving into the midfield at times and averaging 24 disposals. His top-10 credentials grew with each game. 

Collingwood father-son pair Josh Daicos and Callum Brown became genuine top-30 candidates with their form across the carnival. Daicos might be the most natural small forward in it with his sureness around goal, while Brown belies his size to find plenty of the ball.

There were plenty of others to help their draft hopes across the past month. Myles Poholke showed his work as a clever midfield/forward option, Reece Piper's attacking drive began to flourish, Willem Drew's midfield work was solid and Tim Taranto's class around the ball should see him be an early choice.

Zac Fisher is small but had a consistent carnival for WA through the midfield, Quinton Narkle goes hard at the ball and has improved from last year when he was overlooked, and Griffin Logue's draft stocks might shorten as the years go on as one of the better tall defenders.

South Australian captain Jack Graham couldn't have done much more as a bullocking midfielder and won the Larke Medal as the best player of division one, Alex Villis' skills on both feet sees him make things easy for teammates, and Brennan Cox's efforts in defence caught the eye for SA.

Another player to produce some highlights was possible Adelaide or Hawthorn father-son pick Ben Jarman, who showed his class around goal. He seems to sit a bit further back in the pecking order but has some footy smarts.

2. Half the year is done, how does the draft look now?
It has come together well, and recruiters tend to feel a bit better about it after the carnival. It still looks to be a first-round dominated by midfielders and smaller types, but there could be a handful of talls amongst them.

204cm West Australian Tim English will be an early choice, Todd Marshall has the potential to be a high quality key forward and showed why on Wednesday against Vic Country, and Josh Battle just keeps kicking goals.

Where eight of last year's first 16 draft choices were talls, this year's first round might only contain four or five (depending if you view 194cm Jack Scrimshaw as a tall or big midfielder). 

If you're a club looking for a ruckman there will be limited options apart from the sublimely talented English, who starred for WA on Wednesday against Vic Metro.

Max Lynch looks good but is tied to GWS through its academy, while the likes of Peter Ladhams, Jordan Sweet, Tony Olango, Sean Darcy and Jeremy Goddard have shown glimpses but are likely to be considered later in the piece.

3. Are we any closer to having a standout No.1 pick?
Not really. Will Brodie will be in strong contention because he is a consistent, hard-at-it midfielder who plays with the same determination every week.

He did his No.1 chances no harm across the carnival, particularly with a 29-disposal effort in round two against Vic Metro. His performances stack up and he'd step into an AFL club and play right away.

His Vic Country teammate, Hugh McCluggage, also stated his case to be the first name called with four classy showings. McCluggage might have more room for growth than some, and kicks more goals than most of the midfielders around him at the pointy end of the draft. He might need more time to develop but his poise stands out.

Ben Ainsworth (suspension) and Sam Petrevski-Seton (hamstring) had interrupted carnivals but still underlined their talent at the championships. Ainsworth is a game-changer: his kicking is top notch, he boots goals at big moments, has a great spring and will eventually be a goalkicking midfielder – one of the most valuable footy commodities.

Petrevski-Seton's injury held him back from hitting top pace until the final round, when he starred for Western Australia and reminded everyone of his class and ability. He has had a frustrating season, but might be the most talented and exciting of the lot.

English (one to really watch), Jack Scrimshaw, Daniel Venables and McGrath are other names who have been thrown up as players who could shoot into No.1 contention, but if we had to bet today, the first pick will come from Brodie, McCluggage, Petrevski-Seton and Ainsworth.

4. What about the academy prospects?
Classy midfielder Jack Bowes, after dominating the division two championships for Queensland and winning its MVP award, struggled in the first two games for the Allies before finding his feet in the third game. He has genuine class and with a bigger frame will be a very nice player. The Suns will still need to use an early choice to select him in November.

Greater Western Sydney's batch of academy prospects had a mixed time of things.

While Harry Perryman pushed himself into top-10 calculations with his smart play, Harrison Macreadie, who the Giants relocated to Sydney at the start of this season, couldn't put together the form he showed last season.

Macreadie's draft position is an interesting point, given he fits the mould of what clubs are after: a tall, athletic key position player. But he has struggled to find his spot this year and has lost his rhythm. Will Setterfield also didn't dominate before a foot injury ruled him out of the last round.

Fellow Giants prospects Zac Sproule and Max Lynch did some promising things, while the likes of Sam Fisher and Kobe Mutch also did some good things.

The Lions seem unlikely to have any top-end academy prospects this year after selecting Ben Keays and Eric Hipwood in the first 25 last season.

Jacob Allison, an All Australian last year, hasn't hit the same form in 2016 so sits further back, while Declan Watson had a good division two carnival as a key defender so might also be considered.

NSW product Todd Marshall was quiet until the last game, when he kicked three goals against the Allies. Marshall was in GWS' academy before being ruled ineligible. He's in the open draft and is a likely early pick despite not getting huge numbers in the division one carnival.

5. Who was missing?
Jy Simpkin and Alex Witherden missed the whole championships and both will likely miss the rest of the year as both nurse a broken leg.   

Their absence was costly for Vic Country, who won just one game, but the pair should still be reasonably early selections come draft time. Simpkin played for Country at last year's championships as a small forward, while Witherden's class off half-back was a highlight for the Geelong Falcons last year.

Mitch McCarthy played early in the championships before breaking his foot, which will hurt the leaping defender. But he does have some exciting traits with his marking and jumping, and took five contested marks in a half at TAC Cup level not long ago so has shown his potential.