THE CALDER Cannons are not shying away from the emerging talent at their disposal in 2023, with coach Ross Smith “bullish” on what is a relatively new look lineup. Only 15 draft eligible players feature in the 47-player Under 18 squad, as the Metro region looks to cater to its youth and the qualities needed to reach AFLW level.

“My philosophy is that if you’re going to list a player, that you really need to play them at some point,” Smith said. “That’s why we’ve gone for a thinner list. There’s only 13 games for the year so we want to give hopefully all the girls multiple games at some point.

“We were a bit harder on the 18-year-olds. We only have 13 18-year-olds and two 19-year-olds, I think that’d probably be the least of most of the groups, if not all of them. We’ve set the bar quite high for that group, it’s their draft age year so we really feel like they’ve got to have some real qualities there and some draftable traits.”

Calder’s pair of 19th-year prospects will be eligible for the AFLW Season 8 Supplementary Draft on April 4. One is an accomplished midfielder in Reese Sutton, the program’s co-captain in 2022, while the other is a more raw prospect in Maddison Ford.

Smith says the exposure Sutton has already received should put her in the frame for clubs on the lookout for over-age talent, despite Calder’s Under 18 side only having one game scheduled before said draft.

“Reese has done a fair bit of the preseason with Richmond, and she’s done a fair bit of time now at Essendon,” Smith said. “She’s been in the spotlight enough, so I don’t think she really needs to be playing too much. Clubs will probably have made the decision before the game I’d imagine.

“Maddy’s had a bit of a basketball background which has taken her to the (United) States. She’s often been limited in her development football-wise, so we think she’s got huge upside.”

Calder’s leading top-age prospect is AFLW Academy member Amy Gaylor, who featured prominently in the side’s midfield last year. She’s listed in the Vic Metro Under 18 hub alongside standout bottom-ager Kyla Forbes, while 2022 Metro Under 16 MVP Chloe Baker-West is the region’s top 2007-born talent.

The aforementioned trio have already impressed in Cannons colours, and a bunch of relative newcomers to the program are also well poised to make a splash. Smith says there may even be a couple of representative call-ups.

“Kayley Kavanagh‘s a girl with basketball background, a real competitor,” he said. “Sarah Grunden is another who came in late. She came and trained with us last year but decided that she wanted to focus on her schooling, so she’s come back into the program as an 18-year-old and has been phenomenal to this point.

“There’s a couple more 18-year-olds who have come into the system for the first time. Amelia Marino is a good runner, probably our best long distance runner. At the moment it’s too early to tell where her footballing ability is going to be.

“Amy Trindade is an 18-year-old who might push for selection. Stephanie Mitchell‘s a 17-year-old who has come into the system for the first time, she’s quite talented as well.”

The Cannons have been training three nights a week in what Smith described as a more “traditional” preseason period, with season proper starting later than in the last few years. The Coates Talent League’s current longest-serving coach will kick off his next campaign on April 1, against the Sandringham Dragons at Highgate Recreation Reserve.

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