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Why AFL scouts will keep a sharp eye on Colgate Young Guns U23 Game
See the players named in the Vic Metro and Country squads for the Colgate Young Guns Game
www.afl.com.au
The U23 Colgate Young Game is a new feature for the AFL recruitment calendar, as clubs with picks in the Mid-Season Draft (MSD) scramble to figure out which 19/20 year old will be brought into their club to have an immediate impact, this game is designed to allow recruiters to see these MSD fancies match up against each other when their regularly fixtured NAB League games are on a short hiatus. For these kids, this game could be the reason they get picked up, whether it be MSD or end of the season.
The teams, which are selected with heavy recruiter input, are split in a Country v Metro Fashion, with the Metro team being coached by Nick Moodie (Sandringham Dragons Asst. Coach) and Country by Eammon Gill (GWV Rebels Asst. Coach)
TEAM LISTS (corrected wrong clubs):
VIC METRO
No., Player, Age, Height, Weight, NAB League/VFL Club
1. Jake Arundell, 18, 169cm, 65kg, Eastern Ranges
2. Harrison White, 19, 175cm, 70kg, Western Jets
3. Eren Soylemez, 19, 179cm, 82kg, Sandringham Dragons
4. Ewan Macpherson, 19, 179cm, 82kg, Northern Knights
5. Tom Blamires, 18, 180cm, 76kg, Sandringham Dragons
6. Corey Preston, 18, 181cm, 77kg, Eastern Ranges
7. Darby Hipwell, 18, 182cm, 82kg, Sandringham Dragons
8. Harrison Keeling, 19, 183cm, 68kg, Eastern Ranges
9. Joel Trudgeon, 18, 185cm, 90kg, Northern Knights
10. Charlie McKay, 18, 186cm, 83kg, Sandringham Dragons
11. Lachlan Riley, 19, 186cm, 85kg, Sandringham Dragons
12. Dylan Thomas, 18, 187cm, 77kg, Oakleigh Chargers
13. Liam Conway, 19, 188cm, 87kg, Western Jets
14. Ben De Bolfo, 18, 188cm, 79kg, Northern Knights
15. Sam Clohesy, 18, 189cm, 72kg, Calder Cannons
16. Fraser Elliot, 18, 189cm, 88kg, Oakleigh Chargers
17. Luke Cleary, 19, 189cm, 80kg, Sandringham Dragons
18. Logan Young, 19, 190cm, 84kg, Sandringham Dragons
19. Marc Massarotti, 18, 191cm, 91kg, Eastern Ranges
20. Cody Raak, 18, 192cm, 80kg, Western Jets
21. Dominic Akuei, 18, 192cm, 76kg, Northern Knights
22. Samuel Paea, 18, 194cm, 94kg, Calder Cannons
23. Flynn Maguire, 19, 195cm, 82kg, Oakleigh Chargers
24. Riley Smith, 20, 200cm, 104kg, Eastern Ranges
25. Felix Flockart, 19, 202cm, 80kg, Sandringham Dragons
26. Liam Podhajski, 18, 202cm, 99kg, Calder Cannons
27. Ned Moyle, 19, 205cm, 87kg, Oakleigh Chargers
VIC COUNTRY
No., Player, Age, Height, Weight, NAB League/VFL Club
1. Sam Conforti, 19, 173cm, 74kg, Bendigo Pioneers
2. Charlie Ham, 18, 180cm, 74kg, Geelong Falcons
3. Kobi George, 19, 182cm, 74kg, Dandenong Stingrays
4. Jack Hickman, 19, 177cm, 71kg, Bendigo Pioneers
5. Patrick Parnell, 19, 178cm, 60kg, Murray Bushrangers
6. Clayton Gay, 19, 183cm, 77kg, Dandenong Stingrays
7. Will Bravo, 19, 181cm, 77kg, Dandenong Stingrays
8. Marcous Herbert, 18, 181cm, 81kg, GWV Rebels
9. Flynn Young, 19, 181cm, 69kg, Geelong Falcons
10. Isaac Wareham, 19, 183cm, 81kg, Geelong VFL
11. Will Papley, 18, 178cm, 78kg, Gippsland Power
12. Noah Gribble, 18, 180cm, 79kg, Geelong Falcons
14. Charlie Byrne, 18, 184cm, 79kg, Murray Bushrangers
15. Sam Durham, 19, 190cm, 82kg, Richmond VFL
16. Cobi Maxted, 18, 188cm, 88kg, Bendigo Pioneers
17. Bryce Milford, 18, 195cm, 82kg, Dandenong Stingrays
18. Xavier Mitchell, 18, 191cm, 78kg, Bendigo Pioneers
19. Daniel Turner, 19, 191cm, 79kg, Murray Bushrangers
20. Ryan O'Keefe, 19, 192cm, 69kg, Bendigo Pioneers
22. Caleb Ernst, 18, 194cm, 91kg, Bendigo Pioneers
23. Mutaz El Nour, 19, 192cm, 83kg, Northern Bullants VFL
24. Cameron McLeod, 18, 192cm, 78kg, Murray Bushrangers
25. Jai Neal, 18, 192cm, 88kg, Dandenong Stingrays
27. Mason Hawkins, 19, 198cm, 82kg, Gippsland Power
28. Aaron Gundry, 20, 201cm, 91kg, Carlton VFL
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH FROM EACH SIDE
METRO:
27. Ned Moyle (Ruck, Oakleigh Chargers)
Fresh off his debut for Collingwood at VFL level, in a game against the Suns where many agreed he looked comfortably the best Ruck on field, Moyle comes into this contest as one of the leading prospects for the Mid-Season Draft. Coming into the season relatively unknown, a strong first three games against Sandringham, Eastern and Western earnt him selection in the AFL Academy game against the Geelong VFL side, where he held his own against multiple AFL listed players in the ruck. With fellow MSD Metro fancies Max Heath and Jacob Edwards not selected in the game, Moyle is likely to be the number 1 ruck against a much shorter opposition side, expect him to continue his form and dominate the ruck contests, but also look to cover the ground and show his worth as a resting forward.
20. Cody Raak (Third-Tall Defender, Western Jets)
Shot into the 2021 season with a massive first game performance against the Calder Cannons, racking up 29 disposals and 9 marks, Raak has continued to get high returns in NAB League, and showed that, whilst not as prolific at VFL level, his strengths such as positioning, marking overhead and workrate translate well. What has impressed most with Raak is his improvement from the 2019 season, cleaning up his disposal and strengthening his offensive game were two things he wanted to work on and he's done that, resulting in a catapult up draft boards to be one of the more fancied MSD prospects. Trained on with the Bulldogs AFL in an attempt to win a list spot to no success, the NGA member may make the Dogs regret that decision
6. Corey Preston (Small Forward, Eastern Ranges)
The athletic and lightening quick forward was another that trained with the Western Bulldogs over summer in an attempt to win a list spot to no avail, but returned to NAB League action with a bang after the experience, with his opening performance being a 4-goal display against the Calder Cannons. Since then he hasn't quite hit the scoreboard as much, but has still been able to show his athleticism, natural forward craft and tackling pressure work in the forward half, playing in a fashion that suits the modern needs of a small forward.
21. Dominic Akuei (Ruck/ Tall Forward, Northern Knights)
One that's come from the clouds, to the point where most people assumed he was turning 18 this year, Akuei burst into contention in his first NAB League outing against the Western Jets this year, showing casing his incredible leap to match it with Geelong listed Paul Tsapatolis who stands the casual 10cm taller than him. Having to shoulder the load of being the number 1 ruck for Northern given their lack of height in the squad, Akuei has impressed with his ability to match it with 200cm+ opponents in the air, and easily beat them at ground level and in general play around the ground. A Carlton NGA member, Akuei is likely to play as a forward target in this game which will allow him to show his skills in his likely position at the next level
17. Luke Cleary (General Defender, Sandringham Dragons)
Garnering interest prior to the 2020 draft despite limited exposure, Cleary came into the season with the 'one-to-watch' tag already attached to him, but has not let that pressure get to his head, putting in two BOG performances against the Northern Knights and Dandenong Stingrays for Sandringham to come into this game with a bit of form. With speed, ball reading and kicking three of his biggest strengths, he's one that'll have plenty of eyes from clubs looking for good users from the back half, with potential to push up onto the wing
Others: Darby Hipwell (2 games Sandringham VFL, Inside Midfielder, Sandringham Dragons), Charlie McKay (Carlton F/S, Inside Midfielder/ General Defender, Sandringham Dragons), Liam Podhajski (1 game Preston Bullants VFL, Ruck, Calder Cannons), Logan Young (Inside Midfielder, Sandringham Dragons), Dylan Thomas (1 game Collingwood VFL, General Forward, Oakleigh Chargers)
COUNTRY
1. Sam Conforti (Inside Midfielder/ Small Forward, Bendigo Pioneers)
Despite measuring in at just the 173 cm, Conforti has genuine impact around the ground as a contested player in the midfield and forward 50. His good early season NAB League form, averaging just above 20 disposals a game along with a goal, has seen him play the 2 games for Essendon VFL averaging 15.5 disposals playing mostly as a forward, he finds ways to find the footy. We'll be looking for him to continue that ball winning and goal threat in this game, where realistically he'll need to prove he can play as a crumbing forward naturally to get drafted
2. Charlie Ham (General Utility, Geelong Falcons)
Able to fill a role up either end, or even on the wing, Ham is a versatile prospect with speed and genuinely damaging disposal by foot, which are two of the most desirable traits for those outside roles. Another one that got a bit of attention prior to the 2020 draft, Ham came into the season with eyes already heavily on him and hasn't disappointed to date, improving game on game and utilising that earlier mentioned kicking class to open up the games and hurting opposition.
11. Will Papley (Small Forward/ Inside Midfielder, Gippsland Power)
A very familiar surname in the footy world at the moment, Will looks, and plays, a lot like his older brother Tom, bringing that speed, goal sense, tackling pressure and pure aggression to his side, leading to some miracle moments in what has been a bleak season for Gippsland so far. Not the biggest ball winner, so don't expect to see him with ball in hand too often, but be watching out for his moments of brilliance that he produces
7. Will Bravo (Hybrid Midfielder, Dandenong Stingrays)
After training with Hawthorn over the preseason, Bravo has come back and looked comfortably one of Dandenongs best. Truly a well rounded prospect, Bravo brings a lot to the table that everyone will be looking for in their midfielders, with his work rate, speed and disposal all at a high level for the NAB League, it'll be interesting to see how that translates here against players he's yet to line up against. His ability to play as a contested ball winner but also as an outside receiver is also an impressive aspect of his game, allowing him to fit in to any midfield set up.
14. Charlie Byrne (General Defender/ Hybrid Midfielder, Murray Bushrangers)
Playing a style of game not too dissimilar to former teammate Lachie Ash, it's clear why Essendon had him train with them over the preseason, with his speed, ball use out of the defensive half and drive from the defensive 50 all being strengths, it was just consistency that evaded Byrne, with the gap between his best and worst far too big. However he's returned to the NAB League in 2021 with electrifying form, being one of the best handful in all 3 games Murray have played so far.
OTHERS: Jack Hickman (2 games Essendon VFL, Small Forward/ Midfielder, Bendigo Pioneers), Patrick Parnell (Small Defender, Murray Bushrangers), Marcus Herbert (Midfielder, GWV Rebels), Noah Gribble (Hybrid Midfielder, Geelong Falcons), Clayton Gay (Hyrbid Midfielder, Dandenong Stingrays)
OTHER OTHERS (ones that I've liked but aren't in the top 10 for each side):
Eren Soylemez (Small Forward, Sandringham Dragons), Lachlan Riley (Hybrid Midfielder, Sandringham Dragons), Joel Trudgeon (Inside Midfielder, Northern Knights), Ewan McPherson (Inside Midfielder/ Small Utility, Northern Knights, Western Bulldogs F/S)
Caleb Ernst (Tall Forward, Bendigo Pioneers), Xavier Mitchell (Third-Tall forward, Bendigo Pioneers), Flynn Young (General Forward, Geelong Falcons), Kobi George (General Defender, Dandenong Stingrays, Melbourne NGA)
NOTABLE EXCLUSIONS
Jacob Edwards and Max Heath are the two that'll raise the most eyebrows, they're getting drafted in the MSD if they nominate, they get nothing by playing in this game
Zavier Maher and Liam Kolar are two others that had legitimate draft chances last year, but aren't in due to injury
THIS THREAD WILL BE THE GAME-DAY LIVE CHAT THREAD, PLEASE KEEP ALL COLGATE U23'S YOUNG GUNS GAME DISCUSSION HERE
