IN the latest edition of Caught The Eye, we cast our scope to generation next with a look at the Vic Metro Under 16 Futures carnival, which featured some great talent including Next Generation Academy (NGA) and father-son prospects to monitor.

In wet conditions which slowly eased at RAMS Arena in Craigieburn, all six Metro regions took to the field across a bumper day of action, starting with Northern Knights and Eastern Ranges. The Sandringham Dragons then took on rivals, Oakleigh Chargers, before the Calder Cannons and Western Jets locked horns.

First to the field on Monday, Northern hit the ground running to have the better of Eastern through the midfield. The likes of Ty Kitchell and Zak Johnson made the most of the great ruck work from Roman Black and Samuel El Ali, who would both hit the scoreboard in the second half to showcase their versatility. 2023 prospect and small forward Zane Souleiman made forward pocket his own with two classy goals on the boundary.

Eastern fought hard in the last quarter but couldn’t get the reward on the scoreboard. The Ranges’ better players included midfielders Jak Ryan and Cody Anderson, with strong forward Josh Smillie showing some promising signs as a De Goey/Stringer type of powerful hybrid forward-midfield. A few other impressive players included classy wingman Blake Muir and 15-year-old prospect Oliver Greeves.

Sandringham came out hard against Oakleigh, with the Dragons’ forward group showing plenty of class lead by medium forward Angus Phillips, who kicked two majors in the first quarter. Midfielders Levi Ashcroft, Riley Collins and Zach Travers where a lethal combination through the middle, with Josh Docking showing plenty of class on the wing. Other Dragons to impress were half-back Sam Linder and utility Luke Trainor.

Oakleigh looked down and out after the first quarter, but fought back to force a draw via a kick from Noah Yze on the siren. Jagga Smith was the standout through the midfield, with his speed, class and work rate placing him as a very early contender for a top pick in 2024. He also kicked two majors. Others to impress were midfielders Tom Gross and Finn O’Sullivan, defender Doug Kerr, and electric small forward Waylon Davey-Motlop, with the 15-year-old very lively inside 50 and looking dangerous whenever he was near it.

The Western Jets got off to a good start with lively forwards Michael Cilmi, Oliver Murray and Keighton Matofai-Forbes dangerous in attack. Calder also had its fair share of excitement up forward in the form of Isaac Kako, Jayden Nguyen and Khalil Kaakour. All speedy players at ground level, Kako and Nguyen also showed their wares through the midfield. Others to impress were athletic key defender Harry O’Farrell and Lucca Grego, a small/medium forward who oozed confidence.

The second set of Metro fixtures is due to take place with a triple-header at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Thursday, to help solidify Vic Metro’s squad for July’s Under 16 National Championships. Country regions are also going head-to-head over the school holiday period, with eyes also on this year’s carnival.