VICTORIAN mid-season draft hopefuls will have a chance to impress over the next fortnight as the annual Young Guns series gets underway on Saturday. A 24-player squad to take on Vic Metro and Vic Country has been announced, featuring 23 players eligible for the intake.
>> SCROLL to see the full squad
AFL recruiters lodged nominations to help select the side along with input from VFL and Coates Talent League clubs. All players in the squad are 2005-born and meet the requirements to be selected for the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft – barring Hawthorn father-son candidate Ned Maginness.
Vic Metro is the opponent for the first of two games, bouncing down at 4:20pm at Avalon Airport Oval on April 20. The Young Guns then lock horns with Vic Country on Saturday April 28 at Windy Hill, starting at 11:00am. Both games also serve as further trials for the Victorian Under 18 representative squads.
Fringe prospects and non-APS aligned talent will take the field for Metro and Country in hopes of donning the Big V during this year’s National Championships. The Metro squad has been announced, while Country’s will come next week ahead of their own fixture.
Both games will be available to watch via live stream on the AFL website.
2024 YOUNG GUNS SQUAD
| # | FIRST NAME | SURNAME | HT | STATE LEAGUE CLUB |
| 1 | Thomas | Hanily | 178 | Gippsland Power (CTL) |
| 2 | Tobyn | Murray | 180 | Geelong Cats (VFL) |
| 3 | Tarkyn | O’Leary | 178 | Sandringham (VFL) |
| 4 | Oskar | Smartt | 180 | Essendon (VFL) |
| 5 | Oliver | Poole | 183 | Bendigo Pioneers (CTL) |
| 6 | Ryan | Brodie | 182 | Calder Cannons (CTL) |
| 7 | Liam | Kershaw | 185 | Geelong Falcons (CTL) |
| 8 | Dayton | Uerata | 184 | Bendigo Pioneers (CTL) |
| 9 | Cooper | Lord | 184 | Sandringham Dragons (CTL) |
| 10 | Ben | Hopkins | 190 | Dandenong Stingrays (CTL) |
| 11 | Geordie | Payne | 184 | Tasmania Devils (CTL) |
| 12 | Kade | De La Rue | 183 | North Melbourne (VFL) |
| 13 | Ry | Cantwell | 187 | Eastern Ranges (CTL) |
| 14 | Will | McLachlan | 181 | Geelong Falcons (CTL) |
| 15 | Kobe | Shipp | 188 | Casey Demons (VFL) |
| 16 | Lachie | McArthur | 190 | Western Jets (CTL) |
| 17 | Ryan | Eyre | 191 | Calder Cannons (CTL) |
| 18 | Cooper | Trembath | 193 | Eastern Ranges (CTL) |
| 19 | Riak | Andrew | 192 | Dandenong Stingrays (CTL) |
| 20 | Ned | Maginness | 194 | Sandringham Dragons (CTL) |
| 21 | Remy | Maclean | 196 | Eastern Ranges (CTL) |
| 22 | Max | Mapley | 199 | Tasmania Devils (CTL) |
| 23 | Iliro | Smit | 200 | Eastern Ranges (CTL) |
| 24 | Joe | Pike | 203 | Geelong Falcons (CTL) |
VIC METRO UNDER 18 SQUAD
| # | FIRST NAME | SURNAME | HT | STATE LEAGUE CLUB |
| 1 | Massimo | Raso | 171 | Western Jets |
| 2 | Lachy | Dovaston | 175 | Eastern Ranges |
| 3 | Jayden | Nguyen | 177 | Calder Cannons |
| 4 | Luke | Quaynor | 178 | Oakleigh Chargers |
| 5 | Weston | Barker | 176 | Western Jets |
| 6 | Jak | Ryan | 176 | Eastern Ranges |
| 7 | Damon | Hollow | 180 | Calder Cannons |
| 8 | Lucas | McInerney | 180 | Northern Knights |
| 9 | Cody | Anderson | 180 | Eastern Ranges |
| 10 | Nash | King | 181 | Calder Cannons |
| 11 | Luke | Kennedy | 181 | Sandringham Dragons |
| 12 | Lucca | Grego | 184 | Western Jets |
| 14 | Thomas | Wenzel | 184 | Oakleigh Chargers |
| 15 | Liam | Farrar | 188 | Northern Knights |
| 16 | Xavier | Kardachi | 185 | Western Jets |
| 17 | Keighton | Matofai-Forbes | 185 | Western Jets |
| 18 | Seth | Macdonald | 188 | Eastern Ranges |
| 19 | Gabriel | Stumpf | 194 | Northern Knights |
| 20 | Riley | White | 194 | Eastern Ranges |
| 26 | Louis | Emmett | 200 | Oakleigh Chargers |
| 27 | Adrian | Cole | 197 | Sandringham Dragons |
| 28 | Lucas | Impey | 199 | Western Jets |
| 29 | Lucas | Tovey | 198 | Oakleigh Chargers |
| 30 | Thomas | Sims | 199 | Northern Knights |