This weekend marks the start of the 2024 Young Guns Series, where Victoria’s top young football talents will showcase their skills against the state’s premier under-18 teams, Victoria Metro and Victoria Country, over two exciting games.

The action kicks off at Werribee’s Avalon Airport Oval where the Young Guns will face Victoria Metro on Saturday, April 20 at 4:20 PM. The series continues the following Sunday, April 28, when they challenge Victoria Country at Windy Hill, starting at 11:00 AM.

Comprising players who are potential picks for the 2024 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, the Young Guns roster is drawn from nominations by AFL club recruiters and contributions from VFL clubs and Coates Talent League programs. All players on the team are 19 years old or younger as of January 1, 2024, participating either in the VFL or as overage athletes in the Coates Talent League Boys competition.

Historically, the Young Guns platform has been a springboard for talent, with past number one draft picks like Ryan Maric and Jai Culley, who both went on to join the West Coast Eagles, having participated. The series has also featured several other now-AFL-listed players including Essendon’s Sam Durham, Hawthorn’s Massimo D’Ambrosio, Gold Coast Suns’ Sam Clohesy, and Harvey Gallagher from the Western Bulldogs, a recent AFL Rising Star nominee.

The Young Guns will be coached by Calder Cannons assistant coach Matt O’Connor, with support from assistant coaches Jon Mole (Dandenong Stingrays), Mathew Dunham (Bendigo Pioneers), Simon Abrahams (Eastern Ranges), and Joshua Schwandt (Calder Cannons).

The series serves as a crucial trial for Victoria Metro and Victoria Country in their preparation for selecting their final squads for the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships U18 Boys. Players not featured in the Young Guns Series can still be picked for the final teams competing at the Championships.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the squads for this week’s match between the Young Guns and Victoria Metro. Details for the upcoming game against Victoria Country will be released next week.

YOUNG GUNS

# FIRST NAME SURNAME HT STATE LEAGUE CLUB COMMUNITY CLUB
1 Thomas Hanily 178 Gippsland Power (CTL) Leongatha
2 Tobyn Murray 180 Geelong Cats (VFL) Colac
3 Tarkyn O’Leary 178 Sandringham (VFL) Noble Park
4 Oskar Smartt 180 Essendon (VFL) Keilor
5 Oliver Poole 183 Bendigo Pioneers (CTL) Echuca United
6 Ryan Brodie 182 Calder Cannons (CTL) Strathmore
7 Liam Kershaw 185 Geelong Falcons (CTL) St Joseph’s 
8 Dayton Uerata 184 Bendigo Pioneers (CTL) Sandhurst
9 Cooper Lord 184 Sandringham Dragons (CTL) Old Scotch
10 Ben Hopkins 190 Dandenong Stingrays (CTL) Langwarrin
11 Geordie Payne 184 Tasmania Devils (CTL) North Launceston
12 Kade De La Rue 183 North Melbourne (VFL) Beaconsfield
13 Ry Cantwell 187 Eastern Ranges (CTL) North Ringwood
14 Will McLachlan 181 Geelong Falcons (CTL) Colac
15 Kobe Shipp 188 Casey Demons (VFL) Beaconsfield
16 Lachie McArthur 190 Western Jets (CTL) Keilor
17 Ryan Eyre 191 Calder Cannons (CTL) Castlemaine
18 Cooper Trembath 193 Eastern Ranges (CTL) Park Orchards
19 Riak Andrew 192 Dandenong Stingrays (CTL) Berwick
20 Ned Maginness 194 Sandringham Dragons (CTL) East Brighton
21 Remy Maclean 196 Eastern Ranges (CTL) East Ringwood
22 Max Mapley 199 Tasmania Devils (CTL) Clarence
23 Iliro Smit 200 Eastern Ranges (CTL) Montrose
24 Joe Pike 203 Geelong Falcons (CTL) Barwon Heads


VICTORIA METRO

# FIRST NAME SURNAME HT STATE LEAGUE CLUB COMMUNITY CLUB
1 Massimo Raso 171 Western Jets Keilor
2 Lachy Dovaston 175 Eastern Ranges Blackburn
3 Jayden Nguyen 177 Calder Cannons Aberfeldie
4 Luke Quaynor 178 Oakleigh Chargers Doncaster East
5 Weston Barker 176 Western Jets Yarraville-Seddon
6 Jak Ryan 176 Eastern Ranges Woori Yallock
7 Damon Hollow 180 Calder Cannons Epping
8 Lucas McInerney 180 Northern Knights Heidelberg
9 Cody Anderson 180 Eastern Ranges Healesville
10 Nash King 181 Calder Cannons Wallan
11 Luke Kennedy 181 Sandringham Dragons Ormond
12 Lucca Grego 184 Western Jets Keilor
14 Thomas Wenzel 184 Oakleigh Chargers Hawthorn Citizens
15 Liam Farrar 188 Northern Knights Diamond Creek
16 Xavier Kardachi 185 Western Jets Sunshine
17 Keighton Matofai-Forbes 185 Western Jets Keilor
18 Seth Macdonald 188 Eastern Ranges Lysterfield
19 Gabriel Stumpf 194 Northern Knights Warrandyte
20 Riley White 194 Eastern Ranges Park Orchards
26 Louis Emmett 200 Oakleigh Chargers Glen Iris
27 Adrian Cole 197 Sandringham Dragons St Bede’s/Mentone
28 Lucas Impey 199 Western Jets Darley
29 Lucas Tovey 198 Oakleigh Chargers Blackburn
30 Thomas Sims 199 Northern Knights Montmorency