Mountford out to impress

North Albany product Declan Mountford says nerves will not get the better of him ahead of today's NAB AFL Draft Combine, where he and 80 other potential draftees will aim to impress recruiters from the 18 AFL clubs at Etihad Stadium.

Mountford will arrive in Melbourne today for the four-day national combine to enhance his draft prospects before the AFL National Draft on November 24.

As he prepared on Tuesday to fly to Melbourne, the midfielder said the feeling of excitement outweighed any nerves, with his attributes of endurance, agility, power and speed to go under the microscope.

"I'm more excited than nervous just because I know I can only run as fast as I can run and jump as high as I can jump," he said.

"I suppose I am feeling alright."

The number of players invited to the National Combine is down from the figure of close to 100 in recent seasons, with Mountford the only player from Claremont and one of only seven from WA.

To be invited, a player must be nominated by at least five AFL clubs.

Mountford enjoyed a sparkling season capped off with a colts premiership for Claremont late last month.

He was a consistent performer for WA in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, averaging 14 possessions in five matches as well as averaging 24 disposals, six clearances and five tackles in 10 colts matches for the Tigers.

His consistent form was rewarded with reserves selection and a league debut against Swan Districts in August.

Mountford spent last week in Albany preparing for the combine, undertaking some last-minute training and a running session with highly regarded local athletics coach Basil Worner.

The former North Albany midfielder believed his running would be his strength at the combine.

"I'm probably not as prepared as I would have liked as it hasn't been that long a period from the grand final until now," he said.

"We've had a pretty cruisy end to the season just because we didn't play that much football in a certain amount of weeks as we won a few games and had a few byes, so that's probably freshened me up a bit.

"I always set pretty high standards on myself but I know I can only do as well as I can do, so I will try my hardest and see what happens."