A VICTORIAN derby rounds out this year’s AFL Under 18 National Championships, as Country takes on Metro at IKON Park tomorrow morning. Having been the title-deciding match last year, only bragging rights are on the line this time out after the Allies clinched the title last week. We preview the big clash.

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NEED TO KNOW

Who: Vic Country vs. Vic Metro
When: Sunday July 16, 10:35am AEST
Where: IKON Park, Carlton North (VIC)
How to watch: Fox Footy, Kayo, AFL website & app

TEAM NEWS

As has been the case for Metro throughout the carnival, there looks set to be more heavy squad rotation heading into game four. Bottom-agers Jagga Smith, Levi Ashcroft, and Josh Smillie are in line to return having lit up game one as a trio, while a few top-agers seem to have also earned recalls.

Mahmoud Taha is on the team sheet after his 33-disposal Talent League outing last week and fellow on-baller Will Lorenz looks set for another crack, while talls Jordan Croft and Will Green have been named on the eight-player interchange. That figure will be cut down to five.

After pushing the Allies all the way, Vic Country is also set to shuffle the magnets. Bendigo Pioneers pair Oliver Poole and Oskar Smartt look to be among the starters, with the former coming in for his first and only game of the carnival.

Like last match, an inclusion from outside the squad has been made with Dandenong bottom-ager Cooper Hynes named on the extended bench. Fellow Stingray Noah Mraz is another possible inclusion, perhaps adding some tall depth with the capacity to play at either end.

ONES TO WATCH

Contenders are closing hard on Harley Reid‘s top prospect mantle, so the Country co-captain will want to end his carnival on a high note. His last outing at IKON Park saw him boot the first three goals against South Australia, and he was very nearly the hero in his side’s title deciding loss to Metro last year.

Another high-end prospect who will be after a strong finish is Zane Duursma. The dynamic midfielder-forward had just six touches against the Allies but is capable of being a difference maker. The same can be said for Darcy Wilson and likely MVP frontrunner George Stevens.

From a bottom-age sense, Hynes is fresh off a Player of the Week performance and richly deserving of his call-up, while Finn O’Sullivan nearly got the Vics over the line last time out. Metro has its own bottom-age guns in Smith, Ashcroft, and Smillie, who could be the starting centre bounce trio.

It will be interesting to see if and how Metro fit all of Logan Morris, Nate Caddy, and Jordan Croft into the same forward line, though the balance would be relatively similar to last week. With Nick Watson at their feet, anything can happen.

SQUADS

Vic Country:

#1 Oliver Poole
#4 Darcy Wilson
#5 Harley Reid
#6 Luamon Lual
#7 Joel Freijah
#8 Tom Anastasopoulos
#9 Zane Duursma
#10 Kade De La Rue
#11 Billy Wilson
#12 Oskar Smartt
#14 Kobe Shipp
#15 Oscar Ryan
#16 Harry De Mattia
#19 Angus Hastie
#20 Finn O’Sullivan
#22 Archer Reid
#23 George Stevens
#25 Michael Rudd
#26 Cooper Hynes
#28 Oscar Gawith
#35 Wil Dawson
#38 Noah Mraz
#40 Lachlan Smith
#18 Sam Lalor
#21 Jacob Grant

Vic Metro:

#2 Tarkyn O’Leary
#3 Nick Watson
#6 Jagga Smith
#7 Cam Nyko
#8 Kynan Brown
#9 Nathan Philactides
#10 Levi Ashcroft
#13 Mahmoud Taha
#15 Caleb Windsor
#16 Archie Roberts
#18 Harvey Johnston
#20 Charlie Harrop
#21 Will Lorenz
#22 Matt Carroll
#23 Brayden LaPlanche
#24 Nate Caddy
#25 Logan Morris
#27 Will Brown
#28 Josh Smillie
#31 Christian Mardini
#32 Ollie Murphy
#33 Jordan Croft
#34 Will Green
#12 Murphy Reid
#26 Luke Trainor
#29 Riley Weatherill

PREDICTION

Both sides built into arguably their best performances of the championships last week, so we should be in for another bumper Victorian derby. This Metro squad resembles that of game one and aside from going down to the Allies, they have won quite handily against all others.

Country can scrap and have a few improvements left despite having fared so well against the title-winners last week, so that’s a positive. Should dry conditions prevail, Metro will be hard to beat but this one’s a toss of the coin. Maybe we’ll have a repeat of last year, Metro by 7.

2023 AFL U18s RESULTS

South Australia 11.2 (68) def. by Allies 12.12 (84)
South Australia 5.8 (38) def. by Vic Metro 15.16 (106)
Allies 16.12 (108) def. Western Australia 2.8 (20)
Vic Country 11.9 (75) def. by South Australia 15.4 (94)
Western Australia 10.10 (70) def. South Australia 6.6 (42)
Western Australia 8.11 (59) def. by Vic Country 8.13 (61)
Allies 15.9 (99) def. Vic Metro 8.7 (55)
Vic Metro 19.13 (127) def. Western Australia 6.10 (46)
Vic Country 10.10 (70) def. by Allies 12.9 (81)