Greater Western Sydney will retain access to their controversial Riverina zone this year, and could have as many as 10 players to consider as academy draftees at the national draft.

The Giants, who have first call on four AFL Academy players, will also have access to a pair of talented tall players to have emerged in the early part of the TAC Cup season.

Both Todd Marshall and Max Lynch were identified by the Murray Bushrangers last year and have returned to football from other sports.

Marshall, a 198-centimetre forward, is in his first year with the Bushrangers having spent the past two winters in England on cricket tours, where he played as an off-spinner.

While raw, the Deniliquin teenager has already struck recruiters as having some first-round potential.

Lynch grew up playing soccer and was playing as a goalkeeper before playing a couple of games for the Bushrangers as a bottom-age player in 2015.

He is a 200-centimetre ruckman, who joined the Albury Tigers last year after starting out at Jindera.

Harrison Macreadie shapes as the Giants' leading academy prospect, and will play for the AFL Academy in Saturday's game against the Geelong VFL team.

Macreadie made the All-Australian side as a bottom-aged player last year and shapes as one of the more promising key position prospects in the coming draft.

He will be joined in Saturday's game by Zac Sproule, a versatile tall from Albury as well as midfielder Kobe Mutch, who has moved from Broken Hill to play for Bendigo Pioneers.

Will Setterfield, who missed last week's first academy match with a calf injury after enduring knee problems last year, has moved from Albury to board at Caulfield Grammar.

Others available to the Giants this year include utility Harry Perryman, from Collingullie-GP and strong mid-sized forward Jacob Turner, from Temora.

Half-back Tom Highmore, from Canberra, is making his way back after overcoming glandular fever but is already well regarded by some clubs.

The Giants' priority access to the Riverina has created angst among rival clubs given the strong football tradition there but the AFL has ruled out shrinking their zone.

While the club has already secured two future first-round picks, it is  unlikely to match bids for all those it has access to.

Regardless of whether it gathers enough draft "points" to match bids, its decisions will be influenced by how it rates each player and by the number of list spots it has available.

Bushrangers talent manager Lee Fraser said that despite missing some pre-season training with a wrist injury, Marshall had put together some exciting early form.

"He's pretty special. He did a lot of rehab work, as soon as we had a look at him with ball in hand we thought, we've got a footballer here," he said.

"He has an elite footy IQ. He reads the cues really well, he's a lovely kick and he's got good hands.

"He's physically immature, but he's competitive and loves to chase and tackle, so he's one to watch. I heard the word 'gifted' being used in the grandstands last Saturday."

The Giants took four academy players last year, matching bids in the first round for Jacob Hopper, Matthew Kennedy and Harrison Himmelberg.

They secured Matthew Flynn later in the draft, with other academy players Jock Cornell, Kyle Galloway and Nick Coughlan joining Geelong, Sydney and St Kilda as rookies.

Brisbane declined to match a bid for midfielder Corey Wagner on national draft night, allowing him to join North Melbourne,

The Lions chose not to pre-list Mabior Chol as a rookie after the draft and he was later picked up by Richmond.