WITH a different approach to its list management across preseason, Eastern Ranges head into 2025 primed to play an exciting brand of football with four prospects in the Vic Metro talent hub. We spoke to the region’s Talent Lead, Daniel Ryan about the year ahead and which players to keep an eye on.

PRESEASON

“It’s been a really good preseason. We had about 70 to 80 boys that came in over the summer and we’ve done it a little bit different. We had no cuts before Christmas, so we gave every kid an opportunity to continue on in the program over the Christmas break and see who came back well and who didn’t. Then we had a couple more weeks of training and a lot of match sim. We’ve had a few injuries along the way, probably not a heap to our top-end talent. With our squad, we normally sit around about 50 in our squad, but we’ve gone a lot less this year. We’re sitting around about 40… once the private school kids go back we lose about 10 or 11 of them after our third game, so it gives us an opportunity now to go out and have a look at local level and see where we sit with some of our talent.”

TOP-AGE VIC METRO HUB MEMBERS

Andrew Barker
Tall Defender | 191cm | 18/06/2007

“‘Barks’ looks like he’s grown a little bit, he’s filled out. It’ll be interesting to see what his actual height is. We’ve got it on a magnet at 191cm, but we feel like he’s a little bit taller than that. He’s had a couple little setbacks here and there with some injuries, but overall he’s been able to do 90 per cent of the program over the summer. He’s looking fit, he’s looking big, he’s aggressive with his ball use, he’s pretty good aerially, he’s got great closing speed He’s going to be a difficult defender to play on as a forward this year, I would have thought. He can play tall, he can play small, so we’re really looking forward to seeing what he can do.”

Lachy Dovaston
Small Forward | 177cm | 29/05/2007

“‘Dova’ is another one who’s had a great preseason. He hasn’t had any hiccups or anything, he’s been injury free. He had a great Metro hub camp, he trained really well. A lot of the clubs were really excited with the way that they saw him train. He’s going to play as a small forward and probably shoot through the midfield at times throughout this year. He’s looking fit, he’s got some really good speed, he’s got some tricks around goal, so he’s definitely going to be one that we think will [attract] interest later on in the year.”

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

“Ollie’s been outstanding. He hasn’t missed a beat. He’s had a great run through the preseason with no injuries. He’s looking fit, he was voted co-captain from the players and the coaches the other day, she’s actually been able to elevate his leadership within the group. He’s a really great leader, he’s a kid that gets around everyone in our program I feel like from the kids that have just come into our program, he makes them feel a part of the program and a part of the team. It’s going to be a big year for him. He’s really put everything in the right place to take off from Round 1.”

Xavier Taylor
Tall Defender | 191cm | 30/01/2007

“Xavier is another key back. We’ve got some we’ve got some talls coming through at the moment and he’s another one who’s had a solid preseason. Good kid, just keeps rocking up. He’s working on his kicking and decision making, it’s an area that he’s been really focused on and we’ve seen a significant growth in. We know what his weapons are; his presence, he can play on a tall and play on a small. This year will be an opportunity to challenge him in that space, to play on some of the small, nippy forwards in the competition. But you’ll see him play on some of the big boys as well, so I’m real excited for the year ahead for ‘Xav’.”

ONES TO WATCH

“We’ve got a 19-year-old, Rod Ali who’s come in. A young African boy who’s come through Mitcham Football Club. I’ve been trying to get him into our program since he was about 16, but he’s been heavily involved in basketball. He’d come to us before the preseason and said he’s really keen to have an opportunity to have a crack at Coates League footy, and it was his last opportunity because he’d be a 19-year-old for us. He’s looking very impressive. 186cm, but he plays much taller than that. He’s got unbelievable leaps. He’s one that I think will capture the eye of some recruiters in the early part of the season. On top of that, Bailey Lloyd‘s been training really well.”

STANDOUT BOTTOM-AGERS

“We’ve got some really good bottom-age kids coming through like Will Waller and Jordan Knapp, which I’m sure you guys will be talking about and reporting on throughout the year… Will Waller is a key back 191cm, can kick the ball on both feet, penetrating kick, knows when to spoil, knows when to intercept mark. So he’s going to be one. Jordy Knapp’s a great leader. He’s one of the only bottom-agers to be part of our leadership group. Then there’s Beau Garrett coming through as a midfielder, and Archie Spencer. We’ve got some really good talent coming through, but it’s all ahead of them now. Hopefully they get a few games under their belt this year and put themselves in a really good position for next year.”

RETURNING OVER-AGERS

“We’ve got two in particular. We’ve got Seth McDonald, who’s got a contract at Richmond VFL, and Zac McGown who’s got a contract with Box Hill. So those two boys are going to be a part of our early part of the season if they’re not getting picked for Box Hill or Richmond. Seth will play up forward, I’ve seen some stuff at Richmond VFL this year where he’s taken a few hangers. Zac McGowan [has] probably been a backman for us but late last year he rolled in as a midfielder. He’s a big body, athletic type, powerful player that Box Hill have been really keen on. He’s had some training sessions with Hawthorn this year and some practice match opportunities with them. So, those two guys we’re really excited about potentially what could happen in the midseason draft.”

LEADERSHIP GROUP

“We’ve got co-captains this year, Ollie Greaves and Andy Barker. We’ve got a really good, cool group. I feel like there’s no one real leader and we’ve got a real spread of leaders within our group. It’s the first time I think we’ve had a shared captaincy role, but it’ll be a really good one. Ollie will be playing midfield/forward. ‘Barks’ will be playing back. Ollie will have some [AFL] Academy opportunities where he won’t be at the club and maybe some school stuff as well. Potentially he’s not always going to be there for us, so Barks will fill in that and then all of a sudden we’ve got some opportunities for some other kids as well to come up and share that leadership.”

GOALS

“Look, there’s no particular goals. There’s no win-loss [goal]. Obviously you want to perform quite well. I think, for us it’s just trying to keep the team and the squad fit and healthy to try and give every opportunity for the kids to actually get the best out of their footy.”

STYLE OF PLAY

“‘LJ’ [Lauren Morecroft] wants the players to play a pretty exciting brand, so it’ll be speed on the ball. We love coming through the corridor and getting it into our forwards. We’ve got a couple of tall forwards, so hopefully they can give us an aerial precedence, and then we’ve got some pretty good small forwards in coming through. Coates League is a pretty attacking brand of footy and that’s something that LJ loves to see, the clubs like to see, and the people like to see that style of footy. So, we’re looking forward to it.”

ROUND 1

“We’re super excited. We’ve got them the week before, so we play them two weeks in a row. We did that last year, I think we won by eight goals and then next week they beat us by eight goals. But for us, it’s just trying to prep the squad as much as we can for that Round 1 game. The first two or three games of the year we have all the school kids playing, all the Academy kids, all the 19-year-olds. So, we’re looking forward to putting in a strong performance as a team and hopefully some of the things we’ve been working on over the summer we’ll start showing out in Round 1… I feel like every year this competition gets better and better and hopefully this year is no different.”