Brayshaw has three brothers himself, so there were plenty of fielders.

His dad, Mark Brayshaw, is a North Melbourne board member, chief executive of the AFL Coaches Association and a former AFL player.

"Uncle Jim" is the current Roos chairman, high-profile media performer and former state cricketer James Brayshaw.

"We love it when we all get together. There is a lot of banter that flies around between my uncles and my cousins," said Angus, who is just days away from being drafted into the AFL system his extended family is already well accustomed to.

"Compared to James and Robert, dad's other brother, dad is a bit stiff. But when they get together and you listen to them, they are good value."

Angus fully appreciates how good life is at the moment. He crosses off the days before his mum Debra, Mark and his brothers (maybe more excited than he is about it all) follow him to the Gold Coast to see which club reads out his name.

His is expected to be one of the first, maybe in the top three.

While he waits, the soon-to-be 19-year-old occupies his mind by completing the first year of an engineering-commerce degree.

The flexibility of university hours compared to year 12 means he can train harder to prepare his body for the brutal environment he is about to step into, but also to duck around the corner to Royal Melbourne Golf Course (where he is a junior member) for a late afternoon tee time.

In many ways, it seems like he is already living like a professional footballer.

Born nine days too late for last year's draft, Brayshaw has essentially enjoyed a "gap year" in 2014.

It has allowed him to throw more than he expected at his last year as captain of the Sandringham Dragons.

Through his father's friendship with Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson, Brayshaw has gained valuable guidance about how to accentuate the attributes that a player like him – a tall midfielder with a big frame to fill and the potential to play inside and out – needs to make "elite": strength, explosion and a run-all-day tank.

That, and all the extra experiences and work he has done with the Australian Institute of Sport, made possible by the extra time of not being in year 12, has showed up in his play.

"I've learnt how much of it is in the preparation," Brayshaw said. "All players say they realise that once they enter the system, but I guess I feel like I've learnt part of that lesson a year early."

He fits the model for what modern football clubs want their potential draft prospects to be in an ideal world: good footballers, but also good kids.

His handshake grips hard and his eyes lock warmly on the receiver. He is respectful, humble, intelligent, and above all grateful for the position his parents and everyone around him have helped create.

Not least his father, who has seen the industry from a variety of angles, having worked as a chief executive at Richmond, and in different roles at Fremantle and Port Adelaide.

"He's definitely been there for me, especially early on, he guided me on the right path," Brayshaw said.

But he is also mature enough to know that the support from those around him only counts for so much.

Come day one of pre-season, Brayshaw understands "no one is going to do the running for me".

Yet if his extra year in the real world has better prepared him for the weird and wonderful AFL universe, then it is a confidence that comes with limits.

His father Mark's experience in the industry has proved "it is a fierce cauldron my son is entering into".

So much has changed since 1989 when North Melbourne drafted Mark with pick No.6 as a 24-year-old.

"Having watched the industry evolve and now having my son involved, they are far better prepared to become elite athletes," Mark said.

"But there are also a set of challenges that were not around a few years back. Having to contemplate a manager, talk to apparel sponsors and dealing with the media, they're not problems I had to deal with and not typical for an 18-year-old," he said.

"There has been an obscene amount of media attention on Angus and his cohort. And especially with social media and the problems that can give rise, things are so different now to only just recently.

"And it will continue to grow".

On the other hand, Mark also knows how many good people there are in the industry who want to see teenagers like his son make it - most notably the senior coaches with whom he now deals with closely.

And it's relationships with people in football that his family are now sharing this special time with, even if it is accompanied by Brayshaw-style banter from his brothers and friends.

One joke, for instance, asks whether a DNA test is required to clarify the genetic connection between Mark, a back pocket who played 32 games for the Roos across three years, and the promising talent that has put Angus on the radar of every AFL club.

Angus playfully joins in too, recalling his first run-through of the 1989 draft order.

"You look at Peter Matera at No.4 and then it was dad at No.6. One is a superstar, and then there's dad".