THE Australian Under 17 team as part of the NAB AFL Academy will return to New Zealand shores to take on the senior NZ Hawks national side in a one off game at Westpac Stadium on Monday the 24th of April.

Led by AFL National Talent Manager Kevin “Shifter” Sheehan and AFL Academy coach Luke Power, the team will fly out on Thursday before returning on Tuesday. The trip is the sixth time the Australian Under 17 side has toured New Zealand.

“We certainly look forward returning to New Zealand once again and building on the successful experiences of past NAB AFL Academy tours.” Sheehan said.

After five competitive matches since its inception in 2011, the New Zealand Hawks open age team will be looking to record their first win over the AFL Academy.

The Hawks team last played the Australian Under 17’s in April 2016 at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland where the New Zealanders performed well, but were heavily defeated.

Brisbane Lions three-time premiership player Simon Black will run out in the New Zealand team. Black has a rich history associated with AFL football in New Zealand, after being selected in the inaugural New Zealand Hertiage team in 2013. The past three years has seen his role move to a selector of the team in conjunction with fellow selectors Warren Jones and Wayne Schwass.

Black was considered eligible for New Zealand with New Zealand being his father’s birth place.

The New Zealand team will be selected from the AFL New Zealand Premiership which commenced on February 12, while the Australian Under 17 team will be made up of the members of the Level One AFL Academy.

Sydney Swans Academy member Nick Blakey has performed well in the Under 18 Academy Series so far, using his left foot well up forward, while Vic Metro’s Ben King will be one to watch in defence for the Australians.

Jack Lukosius (South Australia) and Sam Walsh (Vic Country) both performed exceptionally well at the MCG in the AFL Academy’s 20th anniversary match at the MCG earlier this month.

LEVEL ONE NAB AFL ACADEMY SQUAD

Northern Territory: Michael Mummery
NSW-ACT: Nick Blakey, Matthew Walker
Queensland: Bailey Scott
Vic Country: Zane Barzen, Jye Caldwell, Ajak Dang, Sam Fletcher, Hudson Garoni **, Sam Walsh
Vic Metro: Jack Bytel, Buku Khamis, Ben King, Max King **, Rhylee West
South Australia: Ruben Flinn, Jackson Hately, Jack Lukosius, Hugo Munn, Izak Rankine, Connor Rozee, Luke Valente
Tasmania: Chayce Jones, Tarryn Thomas
Western Australia: Jason Carter, Ian Hill, Tom Joyce, Sydney Stack

** – Currently injured

GAME DETAILS:

MON, 24 APR 2017

Start: 11.30am – 1.15pm (Local time, Westpac Stadium Wellington)

MATCH DAY TIMINGS

9.00am – Gates open

9.10am – Curtain raiser

11.30am – Kick off NZ Hawks v NAB AFL Academy

1.15pm – Estimated end of match