POSITION: Midfielder/Forward

SNAPSHOT: "A hard working and agile ball winner who racks up plenty of possessions and can also pinch hit up forward."

One of Eastern's standout prospects throughout the pathways, Jake Soligo formed a promising midfield partnership with fellow Ranges Tyler Sonsie and Tyreece Leiu from Under 16s to 19s at NAB League and representative levels. As one of the region's leaders in 2021, the small midfielder-forward stood tall with his two-way work rate and quick skills around the contest. He recently took out the Pennington Medal as Eastern's best and fairest, capping a top-age campaign where he featured in the Big V once more, and at VFL level for Richmond.

STRENGTHS:

+ Work rate
+ Accumulation
+ Clean hands
+ Agility
+ Kick penetration

IMPROVEMENTS:

+ Kick consistency
+ Hurt factor

There are few better competitors than Soligo, a player who works hard both ways and gets his hands dirty for the team. Built strongly for a 179cm prospect, the 18-year-old wins his own ball with clean hands and releases runners to the outer, showcasing a sound inside game. When the ball doesn't fall his way, he chases and pressures the opposition, averaging 6.3 tackles in seven NAB League games this season.

After a steady start to the year, Soligo averaged 26.5 disposals in his final four outings and began to take on more responsibility as a primary ball winner in the wake of Sonsie's late-season injury. His accumulative factor was high, racking up the ball in all parts of the ground and successfully impacting contest after contest.

In possession, Soligo is really slick and effective by hand. He's a quick thinker and has good spacial awareness in tight spots, combined with the agility to get out of trouble. With that combination of smarts and evasiveness, Soligo could make better use of his kicks once he manufactures the right amount of time and space.

While able to pump the ball a fair way, including with set shots from around the 50-metre arc, Soligo sometimes blazes away long and is not as sharp as he could be with each disposal. His style is more accumulative than outright damaging, although he often works to win back balls he has turned over with a long kick out of congestion.

Clean midfielders like Lachie Neale, who hover just below the 180cm mark, can still have great success at AFL level. Soligo fits that bracket with his stoppage nous and competitiveness, but will likely also have to rotate forward. He did so for Vic Metro and kicked goals in four of his seven games, showing glimpses of that required versatility. With his ground level play and pressure game, he could be quite effective in the front half.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 40+

SUMMARY:

In a draft stacked with midfield depth, Soligo will hope he has done enough to attract some interest after the first couple of rounds. Clubs will likely value his work rate and smarts at the contest, with hopes of enhancing his disposal and benefitting from his character. Having waxed with top talent and progressed through high levels in the pathway, Soligo stands in good stead.