ON THE eve of a new Talent League campaign, the preseason testing combine results reveal an even spread of high-level athletes. Among the most impressive results, a pair of Northern Knights soared atop the running vertical jump leaderboard at the event held in Bundoora earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
>> SCROLL to see the Top 5s for each test<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Namely, Vic Metro summer squad members Harry Van Hattum<\/a> and Sam Gayfer<\/a> both rose 103cm among a top five which all cleared triple-figures. 205cm ruckman Van Hattum is a National Academy member touted to be in the pick one race, while Gayfer is a 194cm forward whose uncle Michael played 142 games for Collingwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also among the top leapers was Western Jets over-ager Grayson Lafaialii<\/a>. He ranked equal-second in the standing vert (81cm) and equal-third in the running jump (100cm). He and Northern’s Jamison Leeson<\/a> were the only two players to achieve top-five results in multiple events. Leeson placed third in both the agility (7.845 seconds) and yo-yo tests (21.8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top GWV Rebels talent Ethan Drever<\/a> and Dandenong Stingrays skipper Gus Kennedy<\/a> were the two Vic Country summer squad members to feature among the top fives. Drever notched the fourth-best standing vertical jump at 80cm, while powerful midfielder Kennedy stopped the clock fourth-fastest in the agility test for a time of 7.882 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best yo-yo test score (22.1) was shared by Western\u2019s Jordan Fenton<\/a> and Eastern\u2019s Jett Flower<\/a>. The latter is the grandson of late Melbourne champion, Robert. Meanwhile, it was all-Sandringham atop the 20-metre sprint times. Jack Nicholls<\/strong> (2.814 seconds) and Micah Murphy<\/a> (2.821) were quickest among over 100 athletes to finish under the three-second mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2026 Talent League season gets underway on Saturday March 21 with a double-header at Highgate Recreation Reserve. Oakleigh Chargers take on the Northern Knights in the opening fixture, before Calder hosts Western. Over on Bayside, Bendigo and Tasmania do battle on neutral territory, while the Grand Final rematch sees Sandringham battle Eastern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n >> TOP 5s: <\/strong>SA<\/a> | WA<\/a> | NSW\/ACT<\/a> | QLD<\/a> | TAS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n STANDING VERTICAL JUMP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Harley Hicks (GWV Rebels) – 89cm RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eq. 1. Sam Gayfer (Northern Knights) – 103cm 20-METRE SPRINT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Jack Nicholls (Sandringham Dragons) – 2.814 seconds AFL AGILITY TEST:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Van Rahilly (Geelong Falcons) – 7.756 seconds YO-YO TEST:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eq. 1. Jordan Fenton (Western Jets) – 22.1 <\/p>\n\n\n\nTOP 5s: 2026 TALENT LEAGUE PRESEASON TESTING<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eq. 2. Beau Garrett (Eastern Ranges) – 81cm
Eq. 2. Grayson Lafaialii (Western Jets) – 81cm
Eq. 4. Joshua Djatschenko (Western Jets) – 80cm
Eq. 4. Ethan Drever (GWV Rebels) – 80cm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eq. 1. Harry Van Hattum (Northern Knights) – 103cm
Eq. 3. Riley Downer (GWV Rebels) – 100cm
Eq. 3. Grayson Lafaialii (Western Jets) – 100cm
Eq. 3. Ollie Panozzo (Sandringham Dragons) – 100cm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Micah Murphy (Sandringham Dragons) – 2.821 seconds
3. Finn Marsh (Dandenong Stingrays) – 2.833 seconds
4. Zac Dalli (Western Jets) – 2.834 seconds
5. Andrio Sousa (Dandenong Stingrays) – 2.838 seconds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Archer Lancaster (Bendigo Pioneers) – 7.814 seconds
3. Jamison Leeson (Northern Knights) – 7.845 seconds
4. Gus Kennedy (Dandenong Stingrays) – 7.882 seconds
5. Zac Antonellos (Eastern Ranges) – 7.884 seconds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eq. 1. Jett Flower (Eastern Ranges) – 22.1
Eq. 3. Angus Brown (Sandringham Dragons) – 21.8
Eq. 3. Dan Ewing (GWV Rebels) – 21.8
Eq. 3. Jamison Leeson (Northern Knights) – 21.8<\/p>\n\n\n\n