ROOKIE Me Central has announced its extended Coates Talent League Team of the Year squad for 2025, featuring 48 of the competition’s best performed players. Nearly 200 hopefuls earned nominations via our 24-man teams of the week throughout the season, making them eligible for the final team.

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Eastern Ranges is the most represented region with six nominees, while seven other sides are tied at four apiece. The Ranges finished as the top Metro seed with an equal record to minor premiers Gippsland Power (11-4), and will take on Western Jets for the second week running in Wildcard Round.

A quartet of players each earned a high of eight Team of the Week appearances, headlined by pick one contender Willem Duursma. Defenders Xavier Taylor (Eastern) and Finnegan Davis (Western) matched the feat, along with Bendigo Pioneers midfielder Cody Walker – a Carlton father-son hopeful for 2026.

Walker and Taylor finished the home-and-away season in emphatic fashion, earning nominations across each of the last four rounds. Remarkably, Davis’ first nomination came in Round 9, meaning he made all bar one possible Team of the Week squad in the run to Round 19, locking in a place down back.

Only three bottom-age (2008-born) players feature in the squad, Walker included. Vic Country teammate Jack Pickett also made the cut for his goalkicking exploits with Geelong Falcons, while Gippsland Power wunderkind Cody Templeton was hard to deny after an astonishing season.

At the other end of the spectrum, four over-agers (2006-born) earned their spots amongst the 41 top-age talents. Vic Country ruck Zac Harding was a sure selection alongside GWV Rebels talls Floyd Burmeister and Flynn Penry, while Tom Evans had a prolific year in Bendigo’s backline.

Stay tuned to Rookie Me Central as we cut the squad down to a final 24 next week, and hand over the 2025 Rookie Me Central Medal to a deserving victor.

2025 RMC COATES TALENT LEAGUE TOTY SQUAD

Bendigo Pioneers [3]: Tom Evans, Cody Walker, Hunter Wright
Calder Cannons [2]: Hussien El Achkar, Adam Sweid
Dandenong Stingrays [4]: Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves, Marcus Prasad, Toby Sinnema, Callum Smith
Eastern Ranges [6]: Blake Chambers, Lachy Dovaston, Oliver Greeves, Josiah Landy, Oskar Taylor, Xavier Taylor
Geelong Falcons [4]: Angus Ford, Jesse Mellor, Hugo Mikunda, Jack Pickett
Gippsland Power [4]: Brodie Atkins, Willem Duursma, Zachary O’Keefe, Cody Templeton
GWV Rebels [4]: Floyd Burmeister, Talor Byrne, Charlie McKinnon, Flynn Penry
Murray Bushrangers [3]: Ryder Corrigan, Harry Dean, Zac Harding
Northern Knights [3]: Nicholas Driscoll, Tyson Gresham, Sebastian Murphy
Oakleigh Chargers [4]: Hunter Holmes, Jai Saxena, Aaron Sharkie, Charlie Whitehead
Sandringham Dragons [4]: Xavier Bamert, Jack Dalton, Sacha Levine, Rory Wright
Tasmania Devils [3]: Jack Miller, Avery Thomas, Lucas Wootton
Western Jets [4]: Oskar Ainsworth, Tom Burton, Finn Davis, Tom McGuane