For fans of struggling sides, the AFL Draft is as close to Christmas as possible.
Fresh faces act as shiny, new toys, with goodwill and cheer also available in abundance.
While every club has hit the track for their pre-Christmas training period and each of the new boys have filled their lockers with brand new gear, sights have turned to which of this year's draft class has the ability to make an early impact in 2022.
Although plenty of players plucked will need big summers in the gym, there are a handful of precocious talents that already have expectations on their shoulders.
Here are the names that look the most likely to hit the ground running in their debut years.
Of Essendon's 2021 draftees, Lord is arguably the most likely of the lot to break into Ben Rutten's best-22 early in the season.
It is going to be hard for No. 13 pick Ben Hobbs to break into Essendon's stacked midfield brigade (which includes Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, Dylan Shiel and Jye Caldwell) in the early going, which leaves Lord, a small rebounding defender who can push into the midfield, as a likely early-season option.
