EASTERN Ranges made a remarkable run to last year’s Coates Talent League Grand Final, and promise plenty more on the eve of season 2024. With a pair of National Academy stars to jot down, we chatted to Talent Lead Danny Ryan about the Ranges’ prospects and year ahead.

PRESEASON

“We’ve got a few long-term injuries, more than we’d like, so we’ve probably gone a bit deeper on our list. But I think overall we’ve got a really good balance of top-age players and some good bottom-age players… I don’t think anything will change this year in the way that we set up the profile of our list.”

TOP PROSPECTS

Josh Smillie
Midfielder | 194cm | 17/05/2006

“He’s been really good until a few weeks ago where he got a slight concussion at training and then he had a week of light duties, then he came back and got COVID. But before that he was tracking incredibly. He’s as fit as we’ve seen… we’re really looking forward to seeing how he goes.”

AFL Academy, Vic Metro Talent Hub

Christian Moraes
Midfielder | 183cm | 08/11/2006

“Another one with an interrupted preseason. He hurt his knee in the Futures game on Grand Final day last year and probably didn’t get back into full contact training until post-Christmas… his GPS numbers coming out of games are unbelievable. He’s just a running machine and an accumulator of the footy.”

AFL Academy, Vic Metro Talent Hub

Oliver Greeves
Midfielder/Forward | 191cm | 07/02/2007

“His preseason has been a little bit interrupted with basketball duty… that’s something he’ll balance out right up to April. He’ll still have commitments with basketball and after that, hopefully he can then focus in on footy. He’s been very impressive on the track.”

Vic Metro Talent Hub

Lachy Dovaston
Forward/Midfielder | 176cm | 29/05/2007

“He’s another bottom-ager. We’ve been really impressed with his worth ethic. He’s got some speed and really good footy IQ, so he’s one that we think will be spoken about highly as a draft prospect in the next 18 months. He’s still got a lot of work to do but he’s up for the challenge.”

Vic Metro Talent Hub

ONES TO WATCH

“There’s Seth McDonald, who came in late last season and had a pretty impressive back-end of the year. Some clubs have shown some interest. 189cm winger, very good overhead, lightly built, so he’s got to put on a bit more size which will happen naturally over time.

“There’s Ryan Muir, a really athletic key forward/ruck. He missed a lot of footy last year but he’s come in, he’s athletically gifted – he’s got a really good vertical jump. He’s beating most of the rucks at the ruck contest, got a really good launch at the footy. He’s probably one to watch.

“I think we’ve got a really pretty even group at the moment and time will tell who can step up come Coates Talent League time.”

LEADERSHIP GROUP

“It was a player vote and also a staff vote. Josh Smillie is our captain for the year and I think that was a pretty clear one. It’s not just because he’s one of our best players, it’s more the leadership he provides, the professionalism. He’s a really good role model for all our kids across our program.

“Then we’ve got Baylin Spencer and Jack Baldwin, who played a lot of footy as bottom-agers last year. They’ve come through and polled very well with their leadership qualities. We’ve got Ollie Greeves, an emerging leader as a bottom-age player. He’s shown some really good traits in the leadership space.”

ROUND 1

vs. Oakleigh Chargers @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval
Sunday March 24, 11:00am