{"id":36970,"date":"2018-07-03T21:25:57","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T10:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afldraftcentral.com.au\/?p=36970"},"modified":"2018-07-03T21:25:57","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T10:25:57","slug":"national-u18-championships-previews-round-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2018\/07\/03\/national-u18-championships-previews-round-5\/","title":{"rendered":"National U18 Championships previews: Round 5"},"content":{"rendered":"
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IN the final stanza of the National Under 18 Championships, all roads lead to Etihad Stadium where the Allies take on Western Australia, and Vic Metro hosts South Australia in an enticing double header. Vic Metro and South Australia become the headline act with the winner-takes-all mentality given the title is on the line for both sides.<\/p>\n

ALLIES V. WESTERN AUSTRALIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wednesday, July 4, 2.10pm<\/strong>
Etihad Stadium<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opening game of the final round pits the Allies against Western Australia. The winner takes third spot on the final table of the National Under 18 Championships, with both teams having sole wins over Vic Country, and losses against South Australia and Vic Metro. The Allies come into the game with a strong squad, omitting bottom-ager\u00a0Thomas Green<\/strong>\u00a0who had been solid so far, and rotating\u00a0Dirk Koenen<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0Matthew McGuiness<\/strong>. Overager\u00a0Michael Mummery<\/strong>\u00a0gets his chance to shine on Etihad, while the Western Australian side has three fresh faces to add to it\u2019s victorious team over Vic Country.\u00a0Ian Hill<\/strong>\u00a0is a huge loss for the Black Swans, with the West Australian captain banned for a sling tackle on\u00a0Laitham Vandermeer<\/strong>\u00a0last Friday. With injuries to\u00a0Damon Greaves<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Thomas Baldwin<\/strong>, Western Australia flew over\u00a0Wil Hickmott<\/strong>\u00a0to join the squad, and he will run out tomorrow with\u00a0Luke Moore<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Ethan Hansen<\/strong>\u00a0as the other changes.<\/p>\n

The midfield battle will be intriguing with Hickmott joining\u00a0Sydney Stack<\/strong>,\u00a0Luke Foley<\/strong>,\u00a0Deven Robertson<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Luke English<\/strong>\u00a0in the middle.\u00a0Jack Buller<\/strong>\u00a0will have his work cut out for him against man mountain\u00a0Kieren Briggs<\/strong>\u00a0who is in super form for the Allies. He has been giving his midfield of\u00a0Tarryn Thomas<\/strong>,\u00a0Connor McFadyen<\/strong>,\u00a0Chayce Jones<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Fraser Turner<\/strong>\u00a0first chance at the stoppages.\u00a0Jacob Koschitzke<\/strong>\u00a0is in fine form and could be the man for\u00a0Dillon O\u2019Reilly<\/strong>\u00a0who has been showing promising signs as a key forward, while\u00a0Jason Carter<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jordan Clark<\/strong>\u00a0provide plenty of dash off half-back.\u00a0Bailey Scott<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Connor Budarick<\/strong>\u00a0will look to keep them honest, while\u00a0Nick Blakey<\/strong>\u00a0looms as the danger man for the Allies and one that Western Australia \u2013 and perhaps\u00a0Regan Spooner<\/strong>\u00a0in particular \u2013 will look to contain. Overall, the Allies will head in as favourites, but the West Australians move the ball quick and cleanly to the forward line and it is hoped\u00a0Jarrod Cameron<\/strong>\u00a0can provide the spark again after he booted five goals in Geelong.<\/p>\n

VIC METRO V. SOUTH AUSTRALIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wednesday, July 4, 4.40pm<\/strong>
Etihad Stadium<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the game that everyone will tune in for, the National Under 18 Championships title will be on the line for the undefeated Vic Metro and South Australian sides. In what ended up being a perfect fixture for the AFL, the two best sides are going head-to-head in the final match of the series with the winner to be handed the trophy and celebrate afterwards without any interruptions to other fixturing. South Australia has made its expected two changes, with\u00a0Mihail Lochowiak<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jacob Collins<\/strong>\u00a0replacing\u00a0Kai Pudney<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Boyd Woodcock<\/strong>\u00a0in the team. Vic Metro has rotated rucks for the final game, with\u00a0Tom Hallebone<\/strong>\u00a0recalled to ruck against\u00a0James Siviour<\/strong>\u00a0after injury struck down\u00a0Joe Griffiths<\/strong>.\u00a0Jack Bytel<\/strong>\u00a0has been named in the side despite suffering what looked to be an injury in the last round which would keep him out of the final match.\u00a0Isaac Quaynor<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Ben Silvagni<\/strong>\u00a0return from injury and will strengthen both ends for Metro.<\/p>\n

The match-up on everyone\u2019s lips \u2013\u00a0Jack Lukosius<\/strong>\u00a0pitted against\u00a0Ben King<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 is unlikely to happen despite recruiters hopes, with both players named forward. As we saw in Geelong, Lukosius also played on the wing and down back, standing side-by-side with\u00a0Tarryn Thomas<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Nick Blakey<\/strong>\u00a0at different times showing his versatility. If things start to head south for Vic Metro, King can also play in defence, while\u00a0Will Kelly<\/strong>\u00a0is a capable forward if required. It is predicted Kelly will get first chance on Lukosius, while\u00a0James Blanck<\/strong>\u00a0will line-up on\u00a0Hugo Munn<\/strong>. The midfield battle of\u00a0Izak Rankine<\/strong>,\u00a0Luke Valente<\/strong>,\u00a0Tom Lewis<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jackson Hately<\/strong>\u00a0up against\u00a0Bailey Smith<\/strong>,\u00a0Riley Collier-Dawkins<\/strong>,\u00a0James Rowbottom<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Zak Butters<\/strong>\u00a0is mouthwatering and likely to decide the contest. With both teams having plenty of firepower up front, the midfield is where the game will be won or lost.\u00a0Curtis Taylor<\/strong>\u00a0showed he is a danger up forward for Metro, while\u00a0Xavier O\u2019Halloran<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Noah Anderson<\/strong>\u00a0have already shown through the championships they can boot multiple goals.\u00a0Will Gould<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Riley Grundy<\/strong>\u00a0are in great form \u2013 the latter is the man predicted to head to King.\u00a0Jez McLennan<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Martin Frederick<\/strong>\u00a0provide great run out of defence and will be keen to break the lines, while Quaynor and\u00a0Tom McKenzie<\/strong>\u00a0will be keen to do the same up the other end. It is hard to pick a winner in this game, with both sides filled to the brim with quality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IN the final stanza of the National Under 18 Championships, all roads lead to Etihad Stadium where the Allies take on Western Australia, and Vic Metro hosts South Australia in an enticing double header. Vic Metro and South Australia become the headline act with the winner-takes-all mentality given the title is on the line for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":36878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,8],"tags":[369,175,2465,63,2254,457,2094,2746,4801,144,2383,4131,2800,4283,4132,4276,892,894,2206,910,2752,145,922,248,4593,2349,3835,2453,2357,2380,986,5781,2699,4625,2434,4408,2464,4054,4070,4148,1181,3979,4552,1274,1281,5782,86,2521,1546,4574,2053,3986,5783,234,1757,69,4569,4859,3937,266,2640,1880,1921,4627,2561,182,2318,2415],"class_list":["post-36970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-championships","category-news","tag-allies","tag-bailey-scott","tag-bailey-smith","tag-ben-king","tag-ben-silvagni","tag-boyd-woodcock","tag-chayce-jones","tag-connor-budarick","tag-connor-mcfadyen","tag-curtis-taylor","tag-damon-greaves","tag-deven-robertson","tag-dillon-oreilly","tag-dirk-koenen","tag-ethan-hansen","tag-fraser-turner","tag-hugo-munn","tag-ian-hill","tag-isaac-quaynor","tag-izak-rankine","tag-jack-buller","tag-jack-bytel","tag-jack-lukosius","tag-jackson-hately","tag-jacob-collins","tag-jacob-koschitzke","tag-james-blanck","tag-james-rowbottom","tag-james-siviour","tag-jarrod-cameron","tag-jason-carter","tag-jez-mclennen","tag-joe-griffiths","tag-jordan-clark","tag-kai-pudney","tag-kieren-briggs","tag-laitham-vandermeer","tag-luke-english","tag-luke-foley","tag-luke-moore","tag-luke-valente","tag-martin-frederick","tag-matthew-mcguiness","tag-michael-mummery","tag-mihail-lochowiak","tag-national-afl-championships","tag-nick-blakey","tag-noah-anderson","tag-preview","tag-regan-spooner","tag-riley-collier-dawkins","tag-riley-grundy","tag-round-five-preview","tag-south-australia","tag-sydney-stack","tag-tarryn-thomas","tag-thomas-baldwin","tag-thomas-green","tag-tom-hallebone","tag-tom-lewis","tag-tom-mckenzie","tag-vic-metro","tag-western-australia","tag-wil-hickmott","tag-will-gould","tag-will-kelly","tag-xavier-ohalloran","tag-zak-butters"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}