HAVING watched more up-and-coming young footballers than almost anyone, AFL national talent manager Kevin Sheehan knows a player when he sees one.

And pleasingly for Hawthorn, Sheehan really likes the look of 16 year-old New Zealander Kurt Heatherley.

Heatherley is the first of three gifted athletes spotted by the Hawks on talent-finding missions across the Tasman and signed to international scholarships.

All going to plan, he could be playing on the MCG in brown and gold come season 2013.

The idea that a teenage basketballer could be plucked from overseas and taught to play footy to an elite standard in just a few short years might seem far-fetched.

But Sheehan and Hawthorn development coach David Flood have both seen enough so far to believe it just might happen.

"His athletic potential is pretty clear," Sheehan told hawthornfc.com.au after watching Heatherley at the recent NAB AFL Under-16 Championships, where he played in defence for the South Pacific team against some of Australia's best homegrown talent.

"He's a lovely size and he moves across the ground really well.

"Playing against some very good players, he had some dominant moments within games where he started to mark the ball, run and carry.

"In the last game against the World XVIII it was a really tight game, so there was some real pressure on, and that's when you can make some reasonable judgements.

"He was terrific under pressure."

A top competitor in several sports including basketball in his homeland, Heatherley was identified by Hawthorn recruiter Graham Wright at age 14.

Having agreed to give the Australian game a go by committing to the Hawks, he initially remained in New Zealand but made steady progress on basic football skills under Flood's tutelage.

Two years on, the potential future Hawk has moved to Melbourne, where he's boarding at Caulfield Grammar while making regular visits to Waverley Park.

Backing Sheehan's assessment of Heatherley's rapid rise were his South Pacific coaches, who named the Tauranga native among the team's best in all three matches - close losses to NSW and the World XVIII and a tight win over Tasmania - at the national carnival.

Flood flew to Sydney to see Heatherley and fellow New Zealand scholarship holders Rhys Panui-Leth and Shem Tatupu (who are both still living back home) in action.

He said Heatherley's performances, alongside his efforts for his school's first XVIII this season, have the Hawks feeling confident that their New Zealand experiment will pay off.

"He really wants to make the grade, and so far he's ticked all of the boxes," Flood said.

"But the next two years will be really important in his progress as well."

Although enjoying the most success so far as a key defender, where he's found it easier to read the play, Heatherley's athletic ability and size (currently around 190cm but still growing) mean he could be almost anything by the time he's old enough for senior football.

"He'll probably be able to do a bit of both, whether it's key position or that athletic half-back flanker/winger type of player, with a little bit of ruck-roving," Flood said.

"Maybe a bit of a Tadhg Kennelly-type of player down the track, but who knows how much he's going to grow and how heavy he's going to get?"

Regardless of whether Heatherley can eventually develop the skill to play league football, one thing's not in question: that he has the courage.

No boy without that quality would say goodbye to his home, family and friends and move to a foreign land in pursuit of a career in a sport he'd never previously tried.

"He's a really good kid, and it's a really gutsy move," Flood said.

"It's been exciting coaching and teaching him footy.

"He's got a great attitude towards life, and hopefully in five or 10 years' time we can look back and say, 'gee, that was a really good journey for the lad'."

Mark Macgugan writes for hawthornfc.com.au and covers Hawks news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mmacgugan.