THE 2022 NAB League Boys season is set to kick off at the start of April, with genuine excitement surrounding the latest crop of AFL Draft prospects. The 13 full-time regions are again set to compete in Australia’s most prolific talent pathway, and we preview each squad as season proper approaches. First up, the Greater Western Victoria Rebels.

Rebels talent operations lead Brooke Brown was present at preseason testing earlier this month, which was essentially the first time the region’s 45-player 2022 squad had met all together in one place. On the back of a draft haul which saw four Rebels taken within the top 25 picks, Brown says the Rebels are in good shape.

“From the feedback we’ve been getting from AFL clubs (our draftees) have been settling in perfectly and I think some of them may be a chance to play Round 1 which is exciting,” Brown said. “It shows that there is a pathway for the boys looking ahead, especially when the peers they were playing with last year are now playing AFL footy.

“It’s been a huge year. I think the blessing for us is our satellites were back this year. We had a satellite in Horsham, Warrnambool and Hamilton, so we haven’t seen our region boys until our practice match a few of weeks ago.

“Pretty much today, our squad met one another for the first time on the bus on the way down. It’s been a massive preseason but it’s worked really well that we’ve been able to have those satellites there so the boys haven’t had to travel into Ballarat each week.”

There are a bunch of returning faces among the 19-year-old crop, including some with Vic Country experience who were unlucky to miss out on being drafted in 2021. Five of the Rebels’ seven over-agers have been training with VFL clubs over preseason, set to split their time between the competition this year.

“Jamieson Ballantyne and Angus Bade have been training with the Western Bulldogs, Flynn Loader is at Geelong, we’ve got Hamish Sinnott at Carlton, Charlie Molan at Williamstown, and Myles McCluggage and Thomas Baulch who have also been doing a preseason with the NAB League,” Brown said.

“So we’ve got seven that we see there is some scope in and that will play both NAB League and hopefully some VFL footy throughout the year. We’re excited with our 19-year-olds and they’re certainly going to bolster our bottom-age players when they’re able to play NAB League.”

After a bumper crop last year, there are four Rebels part of the 2022 Vic Country hub. Having all represented Vic Country during last year’s Under 17 carnival, three are now top-agers and one – George Stevens – is a bottom-age prospect. Though Stevens is set to miss the season through injury, Brown says the others are raring to go on the back of big preseasons.

“George is out with an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) so we won’t see him this year,” she said. “Aaron Cadman has had a great preseason and his body shape has changed, and James Van Es has dropped six kilos and spent a lot of time in the gym working on his running. He looks like a footballer now. Felix Fogaty has had a great preseason in Ballarat as well.

“We’re excited for those boys, we’re excited that they’re going to have some continuity and play footy over the next couple of months. Some of these guys have played 10 games of footy in two years so here’s hoping for a full season.

“I would say they’ll play key (position). We’re not a tall side so I wouldn’t be surprised if the coach throws them into a key position at some point in time throughout the season.”

Along with the recognised bunch, GWV is also excited about a couple of potential breakout players and fresh faces. From a rowing convert with top athleticism to a couple of raw players with natural footballing nous, Brown says the Rebels are well equipped for the full season.

“We’ve got a few good runners, we just had Hugh Bond who’s an 18-year-old this year and he’s an elite rower, Australian rower. He’s got the capacity to go into the midfield,” she said. “Not to put any expectation or pressure on, but his build, shape and athletic attributes coming from rowing will stand him in good stead.

“We’ve got a couple of Sudanese boys that we’ve put into the program this year that have played very little football, but they’ve got that football nous. Luamon Lual from Warrnambool, he’s a bottom-age player that we’re really excited about. We think we’ve built a list that’s predominantly going to be able to play NAB League footy for the whole season which is pretty exciting.

Northern Territory native Beau Tedcastle is another name to look out for once season proper gets underway on April 2. The Rebels’ Round 1 assignment is a road trip to take on the Bendigo Pioneers at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

2022 GWV REBELS SQUAD: