GREAT footballers come in all shapes and sizes.

They also come at all ages. Both of these criteria were evident during the week as I watched the AFL under-16 championships on the Gold Coast.

The raw skill, flashes of hardness and intensity of the young men on show were a window into prospective careers in the game. Some of them will be household names in a few years.

At the same carnival in 2006, Trent Cotchin attended as a starry-eyed talent looking to test himself against the best of his age. In 2005, now Carlton teammates Matthew Kreuzer and Bryce Gibbs did likewise, and a year, earlier "another" Selwood, this time of the Joel variety, represented Victoria.

These four are not the only players to have come through these championships and thrive once introduced to an AFL club environment, but they are representative of the ability of young talent to come into today's game and have an impact from the get-go.

Let's start with Cotchin.

Ask any experienced AFL footballer and he'll tell you that a solid pre-season is crucial to good form throughout the year. Well, not only did Cotchin miss most of the skills and running training after being drafted, but he began his season late, making his debut in round eight against Geelong after a handful of VFL matches to lead in.

Cotchin has displayed remarkable strength and balance in the contest and refuses to lose his feet even under the fiercest pressure. His ability to cover the ground and get to contest after contest has been a standout and the skill and poise he shows with the ball in his hands belies his years.

As Kreuzer and Gibbs represented Victoria and South Australia respectively in their under-16 year, they had little idea that together they would be a part of the rebuilding of Carlton.

Both have handled the pressure of their No. 1 draft positions with aplomb and have continued their steep development at the Blues.

The other No. 1 pick in their midst, Marc Murphy, was not good enough at 15 to represent his state, which shows there are many paths to the same end.

Kreuzer is capable of affecting a ruck contest and winning the next ground-level ball in the blink of an eye. He has gone forward to kick goals at vital times and his will to compete is impressive. Big men can take a while to reach their potential, and Kreuzer will be no different, but between now and then, he will still influence games, such is his talent.

Gibbs was selected as the best of his year with the image of a solid, ready-made footballer with few weaknesses and that is exactly what he has become.

In his season-and-a-half, he began as a backman and he has developed into a valuable utility.

He has been exposed to most positions as both a ball-winner and as a run-with player and has rarely failed to produce. Gibbs wins his own ball, finds time and space in traffic and consistently out-thinks and outpositions far more experienced opponents.

In the same draft as Gibbs, Selwood "slipped" down to No. 7 on the back of injury concerns. As has been widely discussed in recent weeks, his early career form stacks up against any player's. The more responsibility you give him, the better he plays. He is hard, skilful, fit and uncompromising.

Whatever needs to be done to succeed in the game, he will do and it is that attitude, as opposed to his talent, that will underpin his success.

The reason these players and more have been able to hit the ground running is the education they have been exposed to in the pathway to the draft.

The best prospects from the under-16 carnival head to the Australian Institute of Sport AFL Academy and will be schooled at regular camps over the next 12 months. They will learn about the AFL environment and how to hone their crafts to the elite level.

They will be lectured and mentored around strategies to cope with the challenges in front of them and their resilience in these areas will be a skill as crucial as the ability to kick, mark and handball.

As with the Cotchins, Gibbs, Kreuzers and Selwoods before them, every academy graduate will be under no illusions as to the expectations of them once drafted by a club and it will be over to them to use these tools to their advantage.

If the value of early picks was ever questioned, recent years have proven that with intensive development programs players can be accelerated. Add to this the more thorough approach by recruiters and the results speak for themselves.

There are no guarantees in life, however, and although best-practice programs are in place and the best young talent gets exposed to it, there is still plenty of work to be done.

When I have an academy intake in front of me, I warn them of as much. Take advantage of this opportunity, I tell them, because for every one of you, there are hundreds who will bite, scratch and claw their way over you to get their shot at the big time. It's an unforgiving industry and talent alone will not guarantee success.

Meanwhile, every participant in this week's championship has an immediate goal in mind.

The top two teams from each division will play curtain-raisers to the AFL grand final this year on the MCG and every team remains in the mix with this weekend's matches to play.

For some, it may be their only chance to suit up on the hallowed turf. For others, it could be the start of something special.