Likened to Essendon captain Zach Merrett, McKercher is now right in the top-10 mix as he’s considered one of the best pure midfield prospects of this draft class.įellow Launceston product James Leake also showed his potential in a strong performance across half-back, finishing with 21 disposals and five marks as he transferred his solid Coates Talent League form into the national champs. Like Sanders, Launceston’s Colby McKercher backed up his excellent AFL Academy games with a strong performance for the Allies, providing tremendous run all day to finish with 27 disposals, six tackles and six clearances. Blessed with clean hands, strength in the contest and great overhead marking ability for a player of his size, Sanders has been likened to Dockers star Andy Brayshaw. Sanders, who’s boarding in Melbourne and averaging 31.7 disposals for the Sandringham Dragons in the Coates Talent League, stands at 186cm and rarely plays a bad game. Sanders’ game comes after two solid outings for the AFL Academy, racking up 20 disposals against Port Adelaide’s SANFL side in April then 24 touches against Carlton’s VFL side in May. He booted 2.1 from 36 disposals, 19 contested possessions, seven marks, seven tackles, seven clearances and five inside 50s. North Launceston’s Ryley Sanders had his standout game of the season, pushing his first-round prospects significantly with a day out against SA. Picture: Mark Brake/AFL Photos/via Getty Images Source: Getty Images

The Suns academy trio, as well as an array of gun players from Tasmania, led the Allies to victory. A speedy and dynamic 172cm prospect, Rogers has drawn comparisons to Dion Prestia. Rogers – who last month won the medal for the AFL Academy’s best player across its two matches against state league opposition – finished with 20 disposals, eight tackles and three clearances. Read’s first half was excellent, dominating in the ruck and showing off his ability to spread from the contest. The other two players are forward-midfielder Jake Rogers and ruck Ethan Read, who also impressed against SA.Ī 200cm ruck, Read had one of his more promising outings at the top level, finishing with 18 disposals, four marks, four tackles, four inside 50s and 10 hit-outs. Walter is one of three possible first-round draft prospects tied to the Gold Coast Suns through their academy. His power and presence, in the first half especially, reaffirmed his status as a likely top-five pick. The star of the game was dynamic 195cm key forward Jed Walter, who booted 3.5 from 17 disposals and nine marks (four contested) in a breathtaking display. If the Allies remain fit, their midfield and attacking-half power will see them challenge Western Australia and the two Victorian sides later in the carnival. Jed Walter of the Allies starred against South Australia. The reality is they could’ve won by a lot more, considering they smashed SA in disposals (+109), contested possessions (+19), clearances (+9) and scoring shots (+9). Stacked with strong midfield and front-half talent, the Allies travelled to South Australia to kick off the 2023 national carnival, with the visitors scoring a 16-point win over the home side at Therbarton Oval. And team chemistry has often been an issue for the Allies set-up, considering players are coming from different parts of the country to play for the one team.īut this year’s team, coached by Essendon great and former Giants interim coach Mark McVeigh, is the best since Allies team since they were introduced into the top division of the national carnival.Īnd it features some of the best prospects of the 2023 draft class – as many as six first-round picks, according to some recruiters – with most producing particularly eye-catching performances on the weekend. Since 2016, the best draft prospects from Tasmania, Queensland, NSW/ACT and Northern Territory have been combined to take on the four teams from Victoria (Metro and Country), South Australia and Western Australia. Vic Metro has won 11 of the 21 titles since the turn of the century, with Vic Country, South Australia and Western Australia sharing the rest of the spoils.īut could 2023 be the year of the Allies? UNLIKELY MAJOR CHAMPS BOILOVER ON THE CARDSįor decades, the AFL’s Under 18 National Championships have been dominated by the major football states.

Academy ladder stands