Lucas Camporeale Draft Profile

GlenelgWing

#2

Lucas Camporeale

height: 184cm

weight:

D.O.B: 21-07-2006

Leagues: AFL U18 Championships

Snapshot
Analysis
Summary

SNAPSHOT: “The son of a gun who shapes as a hard-running wingman capable of accumulating possessions and covering plenty of ground on the outside.” – Michael Alvaro

Carlton is set to be a major ‘twinner’ at this year’s draft with the arrival of not just one, but two father-son guns. Lucas Camporeale, along with twin brother Ben, is firming as a certain selection for the Blues, and will look to follow in the footsteps of their champion father Scott, who played 233 games in navy blue and won the 1995 AFL premiership.

Lucas is the more outside leaning, left-footed counterpart to brother Ben – a right-footed inside midfielder who is slightly higher touted. Both prospects have navigated the South Australian talent pathway together, with Lucas being well regarded early on. He was an All-Australian in SA’s title-winning Under 16 squad in 2022, putting his name on the map.

Camporeale went on to play 13 SANFL Under 18 games as a bottom-ager in 2023, and was selected for both the Under 17 Futures game and National Academy alongside his sibling. A massive top-age campaign was set up for the dashing wingman, who represented his country, state, school (Sacred Heart College), and club (Glenelg) along the journey.

A Reserves berth came his and Ben’s way between eight more Under 18 appearances, and Camporeale helped the Bays take out the minor premiership en route to a preliminary final exit. He averaged 25 disposals at the junior level and was again prominent in South Australian colours, going on to earn a National Draft Combine invite.

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS:

STRENGTHS:

+ Accumulation
+ Endurance
+ Running patterns
+ Outside game
+ Versatility
+ Work rate

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Contested work
- Decision making

There's no doubting Camporeale's ability to rack up possessions. He runs the outside intelligently, much like father Scott, and is capable of sweeping back to stream forward with ball in hand. While he arguably doesn't possess line-breaking speed, the wingman gets off the chain on the back of his high endurance base and clever patterns.

Much like twin brother Ben, Lucas is the type of player who demands the ball. He is a constant outlet in each third of the ground and no matter what position he finds himself in, will support teammates with overlap run. While sometimes he receives the ball under pressure, it means he can bring flow to his side's transitional play.

Camporeale averaged 25 disposals at SANFL Under 18s level and a tick under 21 at the National Championships, with a high of 29 coming against Western Australia. In South Australian colours, his outside tendencies showed with an average 19 uncontested possessions, having spent nearly the whole carnival on a wing.

It's clear that Camporeale's running game and knack for finding the ball are applicable to a variety of roles, though. Arguably his second best position is across half-back, though he spent plenty of time developing his inside craft this year and even has potential as a high forward. In any case, he's able to impact the game in every third of the ground.

With a bit less mass and strength than brother Ben, Lucas is much less likely to become a genuine on-baller. He lacks the same explosive streak and tends to be caught up in tackles, which impacts his disposal. While capable of being efficient by foot, Camporeale's decision making sometimes sells him into trouble.

He ran at 90 per cent disposal efficiency in the SANFL Under 18s, and is quite quick and clean by hand, but needs time and space to get effective kicks away. Often biting off low-percentage options, the leftie has been working on doing so less often and clearly suits the outside style. He plays to those kinds of strengths but still has a dip.

DRAFT RANGE: Late-Rookie

SUMMARY:

Carlton is well poised to be able to match bids for both Camporeale brothers. Ben is likely to attract interest in the 30-45 range, while Lucas is a chance to slide all the way through to the Blues’ final pick in the National Draft. If not, a rookie spot is surely up for grabs. While there are still improvements to be made in his contested work and decision making with ball in hand, Camporeale provides great flexibility as a strong runner who naturally accumulates plenty of possessions and has the drive to improve. It’ll be a sight for sore eyes to see the Camporeale name land back at Princes Park.