For the past year (and quite often longer), recruiters from all AFL clubs have been closely scrutinising the latest batch of potential draftees to determine whether they will, or won’t, be a good fit for their team.

Countless hours have been spent at live games, watching footage, and writing reports on these young players to ensure that the respective clubs have all the necessary information required to make an educated decision come draft time.

The 2014 NAB AFL Draft Combine will play an important role in either validating those preconceived opinions, or perhaps even identifying some potential concerns.

101 of the country’s finest young AFL hopefuls will be put through the rigours over the coming days at Etihad Stadium – all of which will be hoping to stand out from the crowd.

Not only will there be a host of tests designed to assess a player’s physical capabilities, but clubs will also get the opportunity to tap into their personality during the interview process.

Brisbane Lions Recruiting Manager Stephen Conole told lions.com.au that while the AFL Draft Combine is just another part of the year-long recruiting process, he admitted that it can help highlight certain players.

“The Combine really just helps reaffirm our existing views on players, and confirms the type of physical attributes that we have already seen throughout the year,” Conole said.

“It’s an opportunity to see the boys up close in a really challenging environment. We’ll get to speak with them personally and also see how they perform in different types of physical activity.”

Former Lion Elliot Yeo, who has since moved to West Coast, famously rocketed up the Club’s draft ratings after proving a standout at the 2011 AFL Draft Combine.

“No doubt (it plays a key role). But it’s not the be-all and end-all either,” Conole said.

“Lewy Taylor and Darcy Gardiner didn’t test at all last year, but they remained firmly on our radar and went on to have terrific debut seasons at AFL level.”