North Melbourne Academy prospect Lual Deng is starting to earn attention for his goalkicking, but he'd like to develop his game in a slightly different direction.

Asked who he models his style of play on, Deng nominates game-breaking Bulldog champion Marcus Bontempelli.

"I like to think I play like 'the Bont'," Deng said, while preparing for a recent Monday night Academy session at the Kangaroos' Arden St home.

"I like to take the game on, get stuck into the contest."

Aged 15, Deng is one of the highly-rated talents coming through the Rising Roos program, designed to prepare the top junior prospects in the club's Next Generation Academy (NGA) zones for elite talent pathways.

At April's NGA carnival, he kicked five goals, while impressing with his ability to win contested balls and compete in the air.

Tall and athletic, Deng shares a heritage and some background with the inspirational Majak Daw, who became the first Sudanese-Australian player drafted to the AFL when North Melbourne selected him in the 2009 rookie draft.

Though Deng was born in Australia, his parents, like Daw, belong to the Dinka tribe, the largest ethnic group in South Sudan.

They moved to Australia in 2005 due to the civil war in their homeland. After initially settling in Melbourne's east, as the family grew they moved Lual and his three sisters to the western suburb of Manor Lakes, within North Melbourne's Next Generation Academy zone in the City of Wyndham.

Deng is softly spoken in person, but that's not his reputation when he steps onto the footy field.

Academy head coach Hamish MacInnes describes him as "hyper competitive".

"His intent once he's out on the ground is one of his biggest strengths," MacInnes said.

"He plays similar to (Kangaroos forward) Paul Curtis in that he can play above his height and be that second tall.

"He wins a lot of aerial contests. He's really smart with his positioning and body use, and in his ability to read the ball flight, and put himself in the best position to win the footy.

"He also has the mobility to get the ball and create chances around the 50."

Barrelling into a contest during a recent junior game, Deng fractured a finger. Though the injury restricted him from participating in much of Monday night's Academy session, it didn't stop him from taking the half-hour train ride to join in the running and mobility drills.

When the finger heals, Deng's end-of-year goal is to earn an opportunity in next season's Western Jets Under-16 squad in the Coates Talent League.

"I just want to try to be the best I can be," he said. "Keep attacking the ball, improving my contests."

MacInnes feels Deng is well on track to achieve that goal, and perhaps even to find his way onto North Melbourne's list as an Academy prospect in future (Deng would be draft-eligible in 2028).

"Keep up the form he's shown throughout this junior season, and through our Academy sessions, and he will give himself every opportunity to make the Jets squad," he said.