Two of the AFL’s most promising young players will go head-to-head this Sunday at AAMI Stadium when the Brisbane Lions face Port Adelaide.

Port midfielder Ollie Wines and Lions half-forward Sam Mayes were taken at Picks No.7 and No.8 respectively at last year’s AFL National Draft, and have been among the standouts from the ‘class of 2012’.

Wines burst onto the scene with 24 disposals (16 contested) in his senior AFL debut against Melbourne at the MCG in Round 1, which earned him the honour of being the first player nominated for the 2013 AFL Rising Star award.

He has since played in every one of his team’s senior matches so far this season – the only player selected in the top 10 to do so – and has collected 20 touches or more on nine occasions.

Mayes was just as impressive in his AFL debut, with 21 disposals and a team-high 10 marks against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium back in Round 3, but had to wait until Round 12 against Fremantle before receiving his AFL Rising Star nomination.

The North Adelaide recruit, who is set to play in his home state for the first time as a Lion this Sunday, has racked up 20 disposals or more on five occasions this season, and boasts the third best disposal average of all his fellow top 10 draft picks.

But Mayes’ past three weeks have arguably been his best, averaging 21.3 possessions and booting five goals since returning to the side in Round 15.

It’s a sign of the teenager’s maturity that he’s been able to step up, like a number of his Lions teammates, in the absence of injured stars Simon Black and Brent Moloney.

Although it’s unlikely that Wines and Mayes will actually line up against each other, both can probably expect to cross paths on more than one occasion – both this Sunday afternoon, and in many Lions v Port clashes to come.