IN the past week, AFL NSW/ACT announced its Under 16s side for the National AFL Under 16 Championships, while a number of top-age prospects impressed against Victoria in two trial games.

Under 16s squad selection:

NSW/ACT’s side for the National Under 16 Championships features 25 players – 14 from the Sydney Swans Academy and 11 from the GWS GIANTS Academy, with the squad to be reduced to 23 prior to the opening game. The Rams take on Northern Territory on June 11 in Blacktown from 2.30pm, with the team coming together for a weekend training camp running from tomorrow (June 1) through to Sunday (June 3).

AFL NSW/ACT Under 16s Head Coach, Lloyd Perris told the NSW/ACT website he believes the squad has what it takes to combat the other states and territories.

“Heading into the camp, I’m really confident with the Rams squad we’ve selected,” says Perris. “We have plenty of skilful smalls combined with a few really exciting tall prospects.”

Perris praised the Sydney Swans and GIANTS Academies for their work over the 2018 AFL Academy Series.

“The GIANTS and Swans Academies do a brilliant job in preparing their players, which was on show during the three game series,” he said. “There was a great spread of talent across the board, which is exactly what we want in New South Wales, but unfortunately that meant some quality footballers missed out on selection. “I want the Rams to be a super competitive team that brings intensity into training and games. “If the players combine this with a growth mindset and the want to learn and improve, then that’s all I can ask for as a coach.”

Full squad:

NSW/ACT players perform for Allies

A number of players from the Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS Academies had good hit-outs for the Allies trial games against Vic Country and Vic Metro on Sunday at Ikon Park. The first Allies side ran over the top of Country in the final term, while the second side fell short of Metro. Some of the top performers from the two games were;

Thomas Green (30 disposals, four marks, 10 clearances, nine tackles and six inside 50s)
Guy Richardson (25 disposals, five marks, one clearance, one tackle, three rebounds)
Kyle McKellar (24 disposals, five marks, two clearances, two inside 50s, two rebounds)
Liam Delahunty (16 disposals, six marks, one tackle, one inside 50, one goal)
Kieren Briggs (16 disposals, four marks, 14 hitouts, four tackles, four clearances, four behinds)
Jeromy Lucas (18 disposals, two marks, 10 tackles, three clearances, three goals)
Jacob Koschitzke (16 disposals, seven marks, two tackles, two inside 50s, two rebounds, one goal)
Josh Rayner (14 disposals, five marks, two tackles, two inside 50s, two rebounds)
Josh Stern (13 disposals, two marks, five tackles, two inside 50s, two rebounds, one goal)
James Peatling (11 disposals, two marks, three tackles, two clearances, three inside 50s)
Joey Reinhard (11 disposals, one mark, one tackle, two inside 50s, two rebounds)

For more information, check out the match report or the scouting notes from the Allies vs. Vic Country and Allies vs. Vic Metro games.

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Great weekend in NEAFL for the region:

All three New South Wales based clubs had a win in round eight of the NEAFL, with Sydney University remaining unbeaten, while the Swans and GIANTS got the points over reigning premiers Brisbane and Queensland side Redlands respectively. Canberra Demons had the bye.

Sydney University 18.11 (119) defeated NT Thunder 9.7 (61)

The top side always looked the better team in its big win over Northern Territory, booting 11 goals to four after half-time to storm away with a 58-point win and remain unbeaten in the NEAFL competition. Jacob Derickx was best on ground with five goals from 15 disposals, eight marks and eight tackles, while former Sydney and Essendon tagger Craig Bird had 26 disposals, four marks and 11 tackles in a big defensive effort. Others who impressed were Ryan Hebron and Jack Hiscox (both 22 disposals, two marks), while Sam Fong booted two goals from 24 disposals, four marks and seven tackles, and Tom Young finished with the two majors from 25 disposals, six marks and five tackles.

UWS GIANTS 18.16 (124) defeated Redlands 8.11 (59)

The UWS GIANTS easily got the job done against Redlands in an imposing performance, running away 65-point winners with a 15 goals to three opening three quarters to easily ice the game with a quarter to play. Isaac Cumming had a huge game with 33 disposals, 10 marks, five tackles and two goals, while Zachary Sproule was good with 11 marks from 34 disposals. Jeremy Finlayson did his hopes of a recall no harm with 25 disposals, seven marks, four tackles and two goals, while Nick Shipley notched up 26 disposals, three marks and 11 tackles.

Sydney Swans 10.10 (70) defeated Brisbane Lions 7.12 (54)

In a much tighter contest, Sydney managed to knock off reigning premiers Brisbane by 16 points. The Swans led at every break, but by only two points at half time, and the teams combined for eight behinds in the final term as Sydney held on to record an important four points. Nic Newman‘s outstanding form at NEAFL level continued with 29 disposals, five marks, seven tackles and two goals, while Robbie Fox was important with 33 disposals, two marks and eight tackles. Daniel Robinson had a team-high 36 touches to go with six marks and two tackles, while Darcy Cameron was once again prominent in the ruck with 31 hitouts to go with 13 disposals and seven marks.