A CHANGE in the Allies selection process has seen no preseason camp held this year for the budding squad of players ranging from the Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland, and Tasmania. Instead, they will come together for trials in June, ahead of the 2026 Under 18 National Championships.

>> SCROLL to see the full hypothetical squad

While that makes the picture less clear coming into the season, players will inevitably emerge and cement their place on the representative stage. Even still, there is a bunch of talent scattered across the respective state and territories expected to be absolute locks for this year’s side.

With only prior form in mind – dating back to the 2024 Under 16 National Championships which produced eight All-Australians in Pool B – Rookie Me Central has had a crack at putting together a hypothetical preseason Allies squad for 2026.

No Allies preseason camp this year but expect a new trial to be held in Sydney around June as prospects from the NT, NSW, ACT, Queensland and Tassie audition for spots at the U18 National Championships. #AFLDraft @RookieMeCentral

— Michael Alvaro (@MichaelTAlvaro) February 12, 2026

A total of 30 players made the cut, with the starting team of 23 comprising solely of top-age (2008-born) players. An additional seven bottom-agers (2009-born) round out the squad. 2025 representatives who were previously draft eligible – ie over-agers – have not been considered for this exercise.

Of course, official selection may drastically vary and the squad is subject to form and availability once season proper gets underway. Only two players – Caylen Murray and Ethan Matthews – broke through for berths in last year’s team as bottom-agers. Needless to say, both made the cut once again.

They make up the core of a classy starting midfield alongside Matthew Owen, with the trio all boasting VFL experience with their aligned clubs. Hardened ball winners like Jake Callinan and Lachlan Price will also look to crack the on-ball group, along with Hawthorn father-son candidate Cooper Hodge.

There’s some serious running power available on the outside, starting with Archie Hill and Hugh McCallum at the back. Naturally, twins Guy and Will Jenkin take up the wing slots to further aid that end-to-end ball movement, while Ryder Bugg can also do the job as a high back or forward.

After last year’s squad was stacked with tall talent, this year’s edition looks set to have more specialist smalls. Still, swingman Charlie Bovill is a great option to settle into the bookends, while there is clear potential in Swans Academy pair Mason McGroder and Aidan McCartney.

McCartney is a name on the team sheet who comes with an asterisk, given he is set to miss around six months of his top-age year after hip surgery. The mobile tall forward is not only tied to the Swans, but can also consider his links to North Melbourne, where father Jason played 107 games.

A setback for dual club-tied prospect Aidan McCartney. The son of Jason will undergo hip surgery to fix a femoroacetabular impingement (FIA).

Will miss 6-9 months of his top-age year.

Tied to the Roos (F/S) and Swans (Academy). Was due to spend time at North in PS. #AFLDraft

— Michael Alvaro (@MichaelTAlvaro) February 10, 2026

Among our selected bottom-agers, midfielder/forward Max Gulliver was last year’s Under 16 All-Australian captain. Lions defender Jackson Bridge was the Pool B MVP, while Suns star Taj Murray (brother of Jai) missed the carnival but is very highly touted.

For opportunity’s sake, we have opted to bench the bottom-agers for now, but would not be surprised to see any number of them feature at this year’s championships. Each of them have been outlined in the extended squad of 30 with an asterisk.

HYPOTHETICAL STARTING 23

B: Charlie Harper (NSW) – Charlie Bovill (TAS) – Archie Devine (TAS)
HB: Archie Hill (QLD) – Mason McGroder (NSW) – Hugh McCallum (TAS)
C: Guy Jenkin (NSW) – Caylen Murray (QLD) – Will Jenkin (NSW)
HF: Cooper Hodge (QLD) – Aidan McCartney (NSW) – Ryder Bugg (TAS)
F: Sonny Smiler (NT) – Izack Daley (NSW) – Leroy Kaesler (QLD)
FOL: Ewan Dillon (TAS) – Matthew Owen (QLD) – Ethan Matthews (NSW)

INT: Jake Callinan (QLD), Lachlan Price (NSW), Lucas Roberts (NSW), Jacob Stretton (TAS), Tom Wichman (NSW)

EXTENDED SQUAD OF 30

NORTHERN TERRITORY (2): Sonny Smiler (Wanderers), Hugo Timms* (PINT/Oakleigh Chargers)

NSW/ACT (12): Izack Daley (Murray Bushrangers), Cooper French* (Giants Academy), Charlie Harper (Giants Academy/Oakleigh Chargers), Guy Jenkin (Swans Academy), Will Jenkin (Swans Academy), Ethan Matthews (Giants Academy), Aidan McCartney (Swans Academy), Charlie McClennan* (Swans Academy), Mason McGroder (Swans Academy), Lachlan Price (Swans Academy), Lucas Roberts (Giants Academy), Tom Wichman (Giants Academy)

QUEENSLAND (8): Jackson Bridge* (Lions Academy), Jake Callinan (Suns Academy), Archie Hill (Suns Academy), Cooper Hodge (Lions Academy), Leroy Kaesler (Suns Academy), Caylen Murray (Lions Academy), Taj Murray* (Suns Academy), Matthew Owen (Lions Academy)

TASMANIA (8): Charlie Bovill (North Hobart), Ryder Bugg (South Launceston), Archie Devine (North Hobart), Ewan Dillon (Glenorchy), Max Gulliver* (Glenorchy), Sam Husband* (North Launceston), Hugh McCallum (Clarence), Jacob Stretton (Burnie)

* – denotes bottom-age (2009-born)