NORTHERN Knights were a young team in 2018 and despite going down against the Greater Western Victoria Rebels in the Wild Card Round, had plenty of impressive moments. Talent Manager Rhy Gieschen said the Knights were able to blood a number of 16-year-olds in season 2018, which along with a host of evenly talented 17-year-olds will hold them in good stead for the year ahead.

“Overall we were really pleased with the season,” Gieschen said. “I think across the board we knew when going in that we probably only had a certain number of top-age players that were being looked at by the AFL clubs and I think all the top-agers that were on the list we got the best out of, and their ability to compete and play some really good footy throughout the year was really pleasing. “I think to get ourselves into the top eight by the end of the year showed the players ability to fight out games, and grit and determination to play against the best teams was really good. “So bar in the final our biggest loss was about 30 points, so it showed that we were really competitive with the top sides in the competition which was really pleasing. “We played eight 16-year-olds across the year which is really exciting for our prospects this year and we played a high number of bottom age players. So the experience going into the 2019 season based on what we were able to put out on the park in 2018 is quite exciting.”

The Knights had two players drafted in 2018. Sydney’s Justin McInerney shot up draft boards throughout the year having blossomed late in his junior career, and was rewarded for his efforts. Tom McKenzie headed to North Melbourne and was a player identified as a potential prospect at the Knights early in his career and he followed in the footsteps of the Kangaroos and league games record holder, Brent Harvey.

“It was great to get those two players over the line on draft day,” Gieschen said. “Obviously Justin was the real late developer and someone who has a great story through local footy and some school footy, then two years later found himself at the Sydney Swans. “Tom was always highly rated in our program and it was great to see him get an opportunity with North Melbourne.”

Gieschen said the club hoped to have more names added to AFL lists at the end of the year, but both staff and players understood the challenges that lay ahead.

“As always we are keen to get as many players on AFL lists as possible,” he said. “In 2019 we think that we have some pretty good talent but it is extremely hard to get yourself drafted and onto an AFL list. “There is a lot of hard work that needs to be done but we have started in a really productive way over the course of this pre-season.”

In 2019, Gieschen considers the Knights to be a well-balanced group with a number of top-age players in draft consideration based on their bottom-age form, but like McInerney showed, anything can happen with strong development.

“It’s a pretty even group, it’s not a year where you can kind of name one or two or three standout players,” Gieschen said. “I think it will constantly evolve and change across the year. “I think we’ve got eight to ten players that are being looked at by AFL clubs at the moment in their top age year and we hope that continues to grow. “You know it all depends how they start the year and let their footy do the talking and stay injury free we will have quite a few still in the mix at the end of the season.”

Much like its predecessor the TAC Cup, the new-look NAB League still presents challenges for the now 13 clubs. With National Under 18 and Under 16 championships and school football always forcing changes to sides, Gieschen said there was no set expectation, other than to bring the right attitude and give 100 per cent on match day.

“We just hope that every week no matter who’s out on the park, whether we lose players to school footy and state representative footy that we are really competitive in every single game,” Gieschen said. “We will certainly look to blood some bottom-age boys and as always we will try and get some 16-year-olds a go as well. “As long as we are competitive and our attitude’s right on game day I think the win loss takes care of itself.”

As for the Knights’ strengths, Gieschen said Northern’s speed and contested work would trouble opposition sides in 2019.

“We are quite quick, we’ve got some really good run and carry and rebound out of the back half and I think we’ve got some pretty good competitive inside mids- (Adam) Carafa, (Sam) Philp, (Lucas) Perry and hopefully Sunny Brazier can play some games as a 19-year-old so I think our inside mids. “Then our quick versatile style players out of the back half will provide us with some good run and carry. “We’ve got a few creative types up forward, like every team we think we are strong in the midfield, we’ve got good half-backs that use the ball well and we think we’ve got some dangerous forwards, but I guess we will find out in round 1.”

Northern Knights begin their 2019 NAB League campaign against the Western Jets at Ikon Park on Sunday, March 24.