ALL 12 Victorian Talent League Boys regions convened at Maribyrnong Sports Academy earlier this month to partake in their annual preseason testing event, under the eye of Rookie Me. The Under 18 athletes from each squad underwent a range of physical tests; from vertical jumps, to sprints and endurance running.

>> SCROLL for all top 10 results

Few club recruiters or onlookers would have been surprised by Calder Cannons over-ager Rye Penny‘s performances across the event. He topped the the Standing Vertical Jump and Running Vertical Jump with scores of 86 and 101cm respectively, while also finishing inside the Top 20 for the 20m sprint with a time of 2.892 seconds.

Western Jets’ Rook Barry was the quickest in that discipline, crossing the line in a blistering 2.845 seconds. He was the only athlete to test under 2.85 seconds, with Eastern Ranges’ Jacob Vippond and Bendigo Pioneers’ Jed Daniels the others rounding out the podium,

In the agility, Northern Knights’ Jake Woodward zigged and zagged his way to 7.84 seconds in what was a remarkable day across the board as all Top 10 athletics clocked under eight seconds. The GWV Rebels had three athletes inside the Top 10, with one of them being second placed Sam McDonald, ahead of Bendigo Pioneers’ Oliver Poole. Highly touted Vic Metro prospect and AFLW Academy member Nathan Philactides finished fifth in the test with a score of 7.90 seconds.

In the Yo-Yo, four players reached a score of 22.01, with GWV Rebels’ Archie Caldow, Sandringham Dragons’ Tarkyn O’Leary, Northern Knights’ Charlie Opie and Oakleigh Chargers’ Harvey Thomas all dominating on that front. Bendigo Pioneers’ Taj McMillan recorded Top 10 finishes in both the agility (fourth) and standing vertical jump (second).

TOP 10 RESULTS

STANDING VERTICAL JUMP

Rye Penny (Calder Cannons) – 86cm
Taj McMillan (Bendigo Pioneers) – 82cm
Phoenix Gothard (Murray Bushrangers) – 78cm
Coby James (Murray Bushrangers) – 78cm
Shane Clough (Calder Cannons) – 77cm
Daniel Snell (Western Jets) – 76cm
Billy Wilson (Dandenong Stingrays) – 76cm
Jed Daniels (Bendigo Pioneers) – 75cm
Harrison Hewitt (Murray Bushrangers) – 75cm
Caleb Nancarrow (Oakleigh Chargers) – 74cm

RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP

Rye Penny (Calder Cannons) – 101cm
Sam Hoghton (Gippsland Power) – 100cm
Jed Daniels (Bendigo Pioneers) – 96cm
Daniel Snell (Western Jets) – 96cm
Jacob Vippond (Eastern Ranges) – 95cm
Ethan Fitzpatrick (Calder Cannons) – 94cm
Will McLachlan (Geelong Falcons) – 93cm
Davin Cameron (Northern Knights) – 92cm
Billy Wilson (Dandenong Stingrays) – 92cm
Darby Wilson (Murray Bushrangers) – 92cm

20M SPRINT

Rook Barry (Western Jets) – 2.845 seconds
Jacob Vippond (Eastern Ranges) – 2.854 seconds
Jed Daniels (Bendigo Pioneers) – 2.857 seconds
Joziah Nannup (Dandenong Stingrays) – 2.870 seconds
Harry Sullivan (Sandringham Dragons) – 2.884 seconds
Rye Penny (Calder Cannons) – 2.892 seconds
Joshua Goldie (Eastern Ranges – 2.902 seconds
Caleb Windsor (Eastern Ranges) – 2.905 seconds
Rhys Unwin (GWV Rebels) – 2.919 seconds
Blake Leidler (Oakleigh Chargers) – 2.922 seconds

AGILITY TEST

Jake Woodward (Northern Knights) – 7.84 seconds
Sam McDonald (GWV Rebels) – 7.85 seconds
Oliver Poole (Bendigo Pioneers) – 7.86 seconds
Taj McMillan (Bendigo Pioneers) – 7.89 seconds
Nathan Philactides (Oakleigh Chargers) – 7.90 seconds
Ben McGlade (GWV Rebels) – 7.93 seconds
Connor Byrne (GWV Rebels) – 7.95 seconds
Isaac Kako (Calder Cannons) – 7.95 seconds
Jett McLaughlan (Northern Knights) – 7.97 seconds
Tarkyn O’Leary (Sandringham Dragons) – 7.97 seconds

YO-YO TEST (level)

Archie Caldow (GWV Rebels) – 22.01
Tarkyn O’Leary (Sandringham Dragons) – 22.01
Charlie Opie (Northern Knights – 22.01
Harvey Thomas (Oakleigh Chargers) – 22.01
Oliver Badr (Oakleigh Chargers) – 21.08
Maison Goodman (Calder Cannons) – 21.08
Jett McLaughlan (Northern Knights) – 21.08
Tobyn Murray (Geelong Falcons) – 21.08
Darcy Wilson (Murray Bushrangers) – 21.08
Levi Ashcroft (Sandringham Dragons) – 21.07