Tom Boyd is the nominal No.1 draft pick of this year, a tag no doubt difficult to carry with so many games to play and so many weeks to wait before November's NAB AFL Draft.

So far Boyd is doing a good job of handling it. On Sunday the key forward booted six goals in Vic Metro's win over NSW/ACT in his first game of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, and he has been in strong form in the TAC Cup, too.

Being an anticipated early draft choice isn't a position unique to Boyd.

Others, like South Australian midfielder James Aish and Victorian pair Jack Billings and Josh Kelly, are also growing used to that attention, and how to deal with it.

Few, of course, would know it better than Lachie Whitfield.

Whitfield was widely viewed the likely first choice of last year's draft almost two years before it actually happened, having starred at the under-18 championships in 2011 as a bottom-aged player.

He backed up that performance last year for Vic Country, underlining his credentials and doing what was expected of him.

Now impressing in his first season at Greater Western Sydney, Whitfield's advice for this year's likely early draft picks is simple.

"It is stressful at times and there is pressure, but you just need to enjoy your under-18 footy because it is a fun time and you're only training twice a week and it's not a full-time job," Whitfield told AFL.com.au.

"My way of handling it was just to not get ahead of myself. It's the old cliché but when you get to the AFL it really doesn't matter what pick you are.

"I'm not treated any differently to Aidan Corr, who was pick 14. He's played [six] games in a row and more than Lachie Plowman, who was pick three. It really doesn't matter when you get to a club."

Whitfield has played all bar one of the Giants' games this season, and was last week's NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.

With friends and former teammates still playing in the under-18 system, the 18-year-old said he is a keen follower of national championships.

"I'll always keep an eye on it," Whitfield said.