The NAB Challenge is very nearly upon us with the first fixture, Hawthorn versus Carlton, kicking off on Thursday night.

The pre-season competition may be just “glorified practice matches” in the words of Eddie McGuire, but I say, what’s the problem with that?

The NAB Challenge gives us a nice glimpse of the future, letting us see players who wouldn’t ordinarily get game time, and giving us insight into how they might impact the competition this year, or in years to come.

With that in mind, I’ve gone through the competition and picked out the player for each team that I am most looking forward to seeing in the 2016 NAB Challenge. Let’s take a look.

Adelaide Crows – Brad Crouch
Crouch looked like one of the most impressive young midfielders in the league in his first two years but had some bad bouts of injury. Things only got worse in 2015, when he missed the entire season.

Coming into 2016 he has been in full training and really impressed in the Crows’ recent intra-club match, though he did pull up a little sore which has the club taking a cautious approach coming into the NAB Challenge.

Still, I expect Crouch will get a run sometime in the pre-season and as the player seen as a replacement of sorts for Patrick Dangerfield, I’m keen to see what he can produce.

Brisbane Lions – Josh Schache
If you asked a Brisbane fan what their team needed more than anything at any point over the last few years the answer almost always would’ve been ‘a gun key forward’. Now, in number two pick Josh Schache, it appears they’ve got one.

The Lions will be keen to give Schache all the proper development and while that might mean he starts out in the NEAFL and is given time to build his game, you can bet he will definitely get a run in the NAB Challenge.

He kicked a bag of goals in a Lions intra-club match during the pre-season prompting captain Tom Rockliff to say he’d happily sign him up to a 15-year contract.

A hard runner and an accurate shot for goal, I’m really excited to see what Schache can produce in the NAB Challenge.

Carlton Blues – Jacob Weitering
The Blues put a lot of faith in young Weitering at last year’s draft when they took him with the number one pick. It was the first time a key defender has been taken at the top of the draft in the last 20 years, a position usually reserved for midfielders and key forwards.

But the word coming out of Carlton so far is that Weitering has taken admirably to life at AFL level and at this stage looks very likely to make his AFL debut in Round 1 of 2016.

His NAB Challenge campaign will be his chance to prove that he really deserves that – he’s already been named for Thursday night’s opener against Hawthorn.

Collingwood Magpies – Adam Treloar
This one’s not really about seeing whether or not the player is about to make a significant improvement or anything like that, but simply something for fans to salivate over. After giving up two first round draft picks to get him, Pies fans really want to see Treloar play.

He battled a few injuries over the off-season so his NAB Challenge time might ultimately be a little limited, but one would suspect he will still get a run at some point with the goal of preparing him for a Round 1 club debut.

Treloar has a bit of a point to prove as well after leaving the Giants in search of a better contract offer, not to mention his infamous comments about Collingwood being closer to a premiership than his other prominent suitor, Richmond.

Can he live up to the hype and justify the big price tag? I’m excited to find out.

Essendon Bombers – Darcy Parish
Let’s be honest, the Bombers don’t have a huge amount to be excited about this year. Competitively speaking, the 2016 season has become a total write-off for the club before it even began.

However, what they can look forward to is seeing some of their young players get extended runs at AFL level, enjoying significantly more game time.

The one I’m most keen to see is Darcy Parish, considered by many to be the best midfielder in last year’s draft.

Parish was a really classy performer at Under-18 level and will hopefully add that touch of class to the Bombers’ midfield in years to come. I look forward to seeing his career begin in this year’s NAB Challenge.

Fremantle Dockers – Harley Bennell
Much has been made of Bennell’s off-field indiscretions over the past year and the most unfortunate effect is that it has distracted from the fact that he is a seriously high-quality footballer.

If you were to ask me who the most naturally talented players are in the game, there is a good chance I would put Bennell at the very top of the list, and if not, he would definitely be in the top five.

I still get chills thinking about his 2014 game against Geelong where he had 27 touches and kicked six goals to be the best on-field by a mile.

At Fremantle, he has a real chance to become the elite, top-of-the-competition player he can be, and in five years time we might be looking at Nat Fyfe and Bennell as the best one-two midfield punch in the league. It starts here in the NAB Challenge.

Geelong Cats – Patrick Dangerfield
Much like Treloar, this is one to drool over rather than one to analyse. We all know what to expect from Dangerfield – we’ve seen it time after time in his days at Adelaide – but for Cats fans there’s nothing they’re more excited about watching this year than Dangerfield in a Geelong guernsey.

It will be quite exciting also to see how much of an impact Dangerfield has on the team around him – can he free up Joel Selwood and help the Cats midfield lift its standard across the board? Can he have a bit of an impact up forward too?

At the end of the day, we all just love watching elite players in action, and that’s the reason I can’t wait to see Dangerfield in the NAB Challenge.

Gold Coast Suns – Callum Ah Chee
In terms of excitement factor from last year’s draft, it’s hard to go past Callum Ah Chee, who went to the Suns as a top ten pick.

A small forward/midfielder, Ah Chee drew a lot of comparisons to Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard, and if he can prove to be half as good as the Chad, the Suns will be on to a winner here.

Gary Ablett would’ve been my number one choice to watch here of course, but word is that a foot injury will see him miss all or most of the NAB Challenge as a precaution.

I’m also quite keen to see the returns to competitive footy of Dion Prestia, David Swallow and Jaeger O’Meara, though they too might see little to no game time as the Suns look to ease them in.

Greater Western Sydney Giants – Steve Johnson
While the Giants were able to pick up some highly rated young kids in the draft through their academy, the player I’m most keen to see as he lines up in orange for the first time is three-time premiership Cat Steve Johnson.

Stevie J really got the short end of the stick from the Cats last year, who decided not to offer him another contract despite him contributing 30 goals across his 20 games for the season.

Sure you could take the angle of developing youth, but the Cats are clearly trying to win a flag here. Given the recruitment of Dangerfield and Lachie Henderson, among others, why turn away a player who could contribute to that drive?

Stevie J would be asking himself those questions too and I’m really keen to see how he responds to it all, starting with the NAB Challenge.

Hawthorn Hawks – Kurt Heatherley
One of the biggest questions facing the Hawks this season is how their backline will cope with the loss of retiree Brian Lake. Untried New Zealander Kurt Heatherley may just be the answer.

Heatherley joined the Hawks’ rookie list a few years ago and in the time since has steadily built his craft in the VFL, serving the traditional ‘Hawthorn apprenticeship’ of a few years development at the lower level before getting a chance at the top.

His form last year in the VFL, however, was of such a high quality that rival clubs began to circle, though the Hawks managed to retain his signature in 2016.

He has been elevated to the senior list ahead of this season and with Lake gone there is a spot up for grabs that he is well poised to take. A strong NAB Challenge campaign would likely earn him a Round 1 debut – he’s already been named for Thursday night’s opener against the Blues.

Melbourne Demons – Max Gawn
Watching Max Gawn displace Mark Jamar as Melbourne’s preferred ruckman was an interesting shift last year and one that didn’t gain a huge amount of attention at the time, but could really come to the fore in 2016.

Gawn has long been a dominant performer at VFL level and shown some high quality at AFL level before 2015, though without a great deal of consistency. In the latter half of 2015, he got his chance and really lifted his game.

A dominant tap ruckman, Gawn is also great in an aerial sense around the ground, with the ability to take important marks where and when the team needs them, not unlike Todd Goldstein.

Endurance has been his weakness so far but this is something he has apparently focused on during the off-season and word is he dominated the Demons’ intra-club match last week. I’m really excited to see if he can translate that improvement to the NAB Challenge and set himself up for a massive season in 2016.

North Melbourne Kangaroos – Daniel Wells
Arguably the most damaging player in North’s side when fit, Wells has missed the better part of two years of footy. Though that didn’t stop him playing one of the best games of his career in the Kangaroos’ 2014 elimination final win over Essendon.

However, he played only two games last year, injuring his Achilles in Round 2 against Brisbane and not being sighted at AFL level again for the rest of the year.

Wells has reportedly had a really solid pre-season and kicked four goals in an intra-club match last week, so North fans will be hoping to see him put in some strong performances in the NAB Challenge and build the base for a full season at AFL level, or close to.

If he can do that, his influence might just be what North Melbourne needs to take the next step after making two preliminary finals in a row.

Port Adelaide Power – Riley Bonner
Bonner is one of the lesser-known draftees coming into this season, but I don’t expect that to be the case for long. Despite being touted as a potential first-round pick, he slipped to late in the second round where Port Adelaide were exceedingly happy to snap the local boy up.

Regarded by many as the most penetrating kick in the draft, Bonner is a half-back playmaker in the mold of Hawthorn’s Grant Birchall. It’s a type of player I’ve long thought Port could really use, as the likes of Matthew Broadbent and Jasper Pittard are solid but unspectacular in that role.

For that reason, I’m really keen to see what Bonner can produce in the NAB Challenge if or when he gets a run. Because while he has come into the AFL world without a great deal of fanfare, he’s one who might have an impact at highest level sooner rather than later.

Richmond Tigers – Chris Yarran
The Tigers made a big call in last year’s trade period, giving up their second-round picks for two drafts in a row to secure pick 19, and eventually trading that to Carlton for Chris Yarran.

At the time, I wasn’t a fan of the move, and I’m still not. For a player who had a range of disciplinary and form problems in 2015, a first-round pick is simply a silly price to pay.

But, what’s done is done, and I’m interested to see what Yarran can do. Can he justify the high price that Richmond has paid to bring him across?

It’s been all about the ‘new start’ for Yarran but my question is, you can take the man out of Carlton, but can you take the Carlton out of the man? The NAB Challenge will be our first chance to find out the answer.

St Kilda Saints – Jade Gresham
Jake Carlisle is the player I would be most excited to see for the Saints in the NAB Challenge – but that’s not going to happen, is it? Currently, he’s the only player in history that I’m aware of to be suspended for two different drug-related offences at the same time.

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there – instead, I’m keen to get a glimpse at Jade Gresham, the youngster that the Saints took with the first-round pick they acquired from Sydney in the three-team deal that also secured Carlisle.

Gresham is a bit on the smaller side for a midfielder but was one of the best-performed players at Under-18 level last year and if he were ten centimetres taller would probably have been a top five draft pick.

He’ll be a good chance to earn a Round 1 debut for the Saints if he can put forward a strong showing in the NAB Challenge.

Sydney Swans – Callum Mills
The Swans have picked up some great talent through their academy in the past couple of years with Isaac Heeney impressing us all last year and Callum Mills looking to do more of the same in this coming season.

The interesting thing about Mills is that he struggled with injury a lot last year and we didn’t really get to see a lot of him. But he’s a very talented player and is fit and ready to go coming into the NAB Challenge.

Like Heeney, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him step straight up to AFL level, with a Round 1 debut definitely on the cards. A strong NAB Challenge effort could be his ticket in.

West Coast Eagles – Liam Duggan
I was a pretty big fan of smooth mover Duggan in his draft year and really hoped he would slip to North Melbourne’s first pick. No such luck as it turned out, with the West Coast Eagles snagging him at pick number 11 instead.

He impressed me last year in his first season at AFL level, playing a number of quality games before his season was ended by a knee injury in the WAFL. However, he’s come back to full fitness this pre-season and reportedly had a great performance in the Eagles’ intra-club match.

With yesterday’s news that Chris Masten will miss at least two months of footy, Duggan has a good chance to step straight into the Eagles’ best side, and make a big impact on the AFL world in 2016. I’m tipping his NAB Challenge campaign will be the start of that.

Western Bulldogs – Kieran Collins
Sometimes at the AFL draft you see a club and a player who were meant to come together for one reason or another. That’s the feeling I got last year when the Western Bulldogs took Kieran Collins at pick 26.

The 194-centimetre, 95-kilogram defender already has a man-sized body and is a perfect fit for the Bulldogs who desperately need to improve their tall defender stocks.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him become a regular at AFL level this year given his physical readiness to play the game and the Bulldogs’ serious need for a player of his type. A strong showing in the NAB Challenge could be his ticket to a Round 1 debut.

Also, keep an eye on Marcus Adams, a mature key defender the Bulldogs picked up a little later in the draft.

Those are my players that I’ll be watching closely in the NAB Challenge. But what about you, Roarers? Who are you excited to see when the pre-season competition begins on Thursday night?