Under 18 Championships Preview: Vic Country
VIC COUNTRY enters the National Under 18s Championships as a big question mark given it failed to produce a win last season despite being one of the favourites. In 2017, Country has a greater depth of inside ball winners, but less class on the outside, while a plethora of key forwards and the best key […]
Matt Balmer’s 2017 AFL Draft June Power Rankings
IN an AFL Draft Central feature, AFL Draft analyst Matt Balmer will rank and update his Power Rankings on the first Monday of every month. You can read Matt Balmer‘s May edition of his Power Rankings here: June is crunch time for AFL club recruiters. They will be analysing every move of the players in the National Under 18 […]
Inside presence for Vic Country U18 squad
BIG bodied inside midfielders will headline the top-end talent in the 2017 Victoria Country squad at the National AFL Under 18s Championships. The team is filled with some of the draft crop’s top inside midfielders led by Dandenong Stingrays’ Luke Davies-Uniacke who will be in the battle for the number one draft pick at the end […]
Victorian school football update May edition
WE ARE a month into the APS and AGSV school boy Victorian football competitions and Matt Balmer delves deeper into which prospects have started well in the school season. The old saying that “If you’re good enough, recruiters will find you, no matter where you play” rings true in the Victoria school football competition where players […]
Matt Balmer’s 2017 AFL Draft May Power Rankings
IN an AFL Draft Central feature, AFL Draft analyst Matt Balmer will rank and update his Power Rankings on the first Monday of every month. In May 2016, Sam Petrevski-Seton sat at number one, before going on to be selected by Carlton at Pick 6. #1 Jarrod Brander Key Position Forward/Defender (Bendigo Pioneers/GWS Academy*) 11/02/1999 […]
Scouting notes: AFL Academy 20th anniversary match
THE countries best Under 17 and Under 18 players took part in the NAB AFL Academy’s 20th anniversary match at the MCG on Sunday. In appalling conditions, Team Daniher won by 46-points. Rayner wreaks havoc in MCG curtain-raiser Matt Balmer’s scouting notes: Team Weitering: #1 Charlie Spargo – Finished with 19 disposals and five clearances in […]
Under 17 All Stars game ultimate preview
AUSTRALIA’S top teenage footballers will take part in a new concept that is aimed to feature the best players for the 2017 draft. Saturday’s Under 17 All Stars match will see players divided up into two teams to play against each other in an event that the AFL hope will be in front of a […]
Top talent on show on AFL Grand Final weekend
In a new initiative announced by the AFL, the best Under 17 and Under 18 talent will play games on the Grand Final day long weekend under the eyes of recruiters and fans. The Under 18 All Stars game will be played at Punt Road Oval at 1.30pm, broadcast on Fox Footy on Grand Final […]
Scouting notes: Sunday’s TAC Cup Finals
Matt Balmer’s scouting notes: Sandringham Dragons 10.17 (77) defeated Eastern Ranges 10.15 (75) Sandringham Dragons: #4 Will Setterfield– Incredible performance on the inside from Setterfield. Was the main man in the centre for the Dragons. Laid 16 huge tackles and had nine clearances in his 19 disposals including 13 contested possessions. The GWS academy member is putting […]
Finals preview: Sunday’s games
Sandringham Dragons vs. Eastern Ranges Of all the matches this weekend, the clash I am most looking forward to is the Sandringham/Eastern match. The reason for this is because I believe both sides have what it takes to win the flag, but only one of them will survive the first week of finals. Sandringham is one […]
