THE CROWNING moment of every year’s AFL Under 18 National Championships is the final day presentation, where individual awards – and sometimes the title – are decided. While the closing fixture between Vic Country and Metro was effectively a dead rubber this year, it remained a great occasion.

Joining Daniel Curtin (Western Australia), Sid Draper (South Australia), and Connor O’Sullivan (Allies) as state Most Valuable Players (MVPs) were Country co-captain Harley Reid and rising Metro defender Ollie Murphy, while Ryley Sanders was flown over early to be awarded the Larke Medal.

Sanders, who starred in the Allies’ undefeated run to their maiden title, received a call from AFL Talent Ambassador Kevin Sheehan to say he was “a good chance” to take out the best and fairest medal. It remained somewhat of a surprise, despite the heavy hint.

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“It was a goal of mine at the start of the year to perform really well in these championships, which I’m glad I did,” Sanders said. “It was good to play with the Allies boys and obviously win the champs.

“Pretty much all our Allies boys improved their draft stock over the champs like Jed Walter and Colby McKercher, and even some of the boys who weren’t as high profile.”

Having only previously won a maximum of one game since entering the current championship format in 2016, the Allies beat all comers this time around. That included a first-ever win over Vic Metro, a result which Sanders says the side was “confident” of achieving.

“Internally, we honestly thought we were the best team before we even (played), he said. “Then after the SA game we thought ‘yeah we can actually do this’, and we just kept performing well which was awesome.

“Mark (McVeigh) put so much confidence in us. I did one camp in January but I couldn’t go to the one before the champs because I had to play school footy. He just gave me a call, he’s like ‘look mate, I’m going to back you in’. It just gave me so much confidence to go to work and play to my strengths.”

North Melbourne is currently in a battle to not only have Sanders tied to its Next Generation Academy, but also gain priority access to the midfielder via special dispensation from the AFL. He is also a Tasmanian native, adding another layer of intrigue given the incumbent Devils side’s establishment.

Though, the player at the centre of such jostling – Sanders – remains relatively out of the loop and says he hasn’t “given it much thought”. The 18-year-old did conceded that it would be nice to land at a club alongside McKercher, who he has played with throughout their junior careers.

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“I’ve already moved from Tassie so I really like it over in Melbourne,” he said. “I’d probably want to stay at the same club but you just don’t know what’s going to happen. If I went somewhere and I was really happy I’d just stay, but I haven’t really thought about it too much.

“If the time does come when I’ve got to make a decision, and the same with (McKercher), you’ve just got to do what’s best for yourself. But it would be pretty good if we played together, we’ve been playing together since Under 12s… hopefully we end up somewhere together in this year’s draft.”

Having just compiled 24 disposals and 11 clearances in Vic Country’s 31-point win over Metro, Reid was also on hand to collect his MVP medal. The honour was no mean feat for the pick one favourite and Country co-captain, who had to battle through an unorthodox start to his campaign.

“It was pretty interrupted at the start so I sat at full-forward at times and tried to build up the tank over the last four weeks,” Reid said. “It’s good taking on new roles, I love playing forward and anywhere on the ground. It was tough but at the end of the day I was just trying to build myself up into it.”

Also captain of his Talent League region, Bendigo Pioneers, Reid says holding the leadership position alongside Harry De Mattia helped him get into a more team-oriented mindset, rather than having to solely think about his own game.

“It’s a privilege to be captain of these Vic Country boys,” he said. “I’ve loved every bit of it and it just gives me another gear to play as a team and win at the end of the day… at the end of the day I just love thinking more about the team and how I can make it better.”

Treating the hype of his exploits in a typically laid back manner, Reid says he is looking forward to running out the remainder of his season with Bendigo, seeking enjoyment in the final games of his junior career. There is also the possibility of more VFL exposure, though he is not particularly focussed on it.

Not to be forgotten on the final day of this year’s National Championships, despite his side’s loss, was Murphy receiving the Vic Metro MVP award. Having established himself as one to watch in Victoria’s trial games, he produced four strong championship games and now looks a first round contender.

A St Kilda fan, Murphy draws inspiration from Saints defender Callum Wilkie, who he rates as the best intercept marker in the AFL. Players who can “lead the team from a deep back position” like Harris Andrews and Aliir Aliir are also apt archetypes for the Sandringham Dragons product.

Murphy has had to learn his craft relatively quickly, taking to the key defensive post with aplomb and being tasked with some of the toughest matchups at this year’s National Championships. Vic Country’s Archer Reid was the latest, on Sunday.

“It wasn’t really planned like that, (Reid) was just the tallest key forward so I went to him,” Murphy said. “All credit to him, he’s a good player and good in the air. I like someone that can play like that, it suits how I play… the aerial contests are what I pride myself on.

“Jed Walter was (my toughest opponent). I think he kicked three on me in the first quarter so that was a big shock to the system. He has every attribute that you want from an AFL player. Tough to play against, but a good bloke as well, it was a good experience for me to learn to play on such a big-bodied player.”

Like Sanders and Reid, Murphy will turn out in the back-end of the Coates Talent League season, but also has school football to return to with Caulfield Grammar. The 200cm played four games with the Dragons before the APS fixtures got underway.