Brisbane Lions GM of football Danny Daly isn’t limiting his expectations for Will Ashcroft’s debut season.

Ashcroft came into the 2022 National Draft as the consensus top prospect and was claimed early on by the Lions as a father-son selection.

After seeing the 18-year-old get some run throughout pre-season training, Daly believes Ashcroft could be capable of having a big impact in his first year of senior football.

“(Ashcroft has) taken some massive steps over the last couple of months to show exactly what he’s like as a player,” Daly told SEN’s The Run Home.

“Everyone is going to see what he can do but we had a practice match on Friday night, and he was probably close to one of the best on the ground.”

The No.2 pick from last year's NAB AFL Draft found space at will, made good decisions with ball in hand and used it wisely by both hand and foot.

What's even more exciting for Lions fans is Ashcroft's ability to damage the scoreboard. In a midfield rotation consisting of Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley and Dev Robertson, Ashcroft's flexibility saw him swing forward for a 3.2 scoreline in Friday's match sim at Wilston Grange.

While Daly doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, he is confident that Ashcroft is capable of establishing himself in a Lions side with premiership aspirations.

“The world is his oyster, if he performs well he’ll keep playing and keep playing a role for us and get himself into our midfield,” he said.

“We’re also mindful that he’s a young kid and he’s coming into a pretty good outfit at the minute.

“In his own mind, I think he thinks he’s ready to attack the AFL with vigour and have a fantastic season and be part of our 18 and cement his spot in the side, which he’s capable of doing.

“We don’t hold any limitations on what he can do to be honest.”