Victoria Country has selected its squad for its first match at the 2025 AFL Under
18 National Championships, with local
stars Wil Malady and Zac O’Keefe part of
the squad.
Victoria Country will starts its National Championships campaign with a trip to Perth to take on Western Australia at Mineral Resources Park this Saturday.
O’Keefe played for Victorian Country in last year’s under 18 championships, while Malady starred for the Victorian Country in the under 16 championships last season.
The squad for the opening clash features players who represent Coates Talent
League country programs the Bendigo Pioneers, Dandenong Stingrays, Geelong Falcons, Gippsland Power, GWV Rebels
and Murray Bushrangers.
Additional players will be added to
the squad throughout the championships,
if required.
Other Gippsland Power players in the squad include Willem Duursma (Foster), Mitchell Stevens (Heyfield), Thomas Matthews (Moe) and Jobe Scapin (Inverloch Kongwak).
The Victoria Country’s squad includes three father-son prospects in Harry Dean (son of Peter), Stevens (son of Mark) and bottom-ager Cody Walker (son of Andrew).
Gippsland Power head coach Rhett McLennan has been appointed Victoria Country head coach.
McLennan will be assisted by fellow Coates Talent League coaches Danny O’Bree (Bendigo Pioneers), Nick Cox (Dandenong Stingrays), Paul Corrigan (Geelong Falcons), David Loader (GWV Rebels) and Mark Brown (Murray Bushrangers).
The 2025 AFL National Championships will be played during June and July and will feature the most talented under 18 boys footballers from across Australia.
Victoria Country’s opening game against Western Australia will be followed by three matches in Melbourne.
They will take on South Australia on Sunday, June 29, and the Allies on Saturday, July 5, before a clash with Victoria Metro in the final game of the carnival on Sunday, July 20.
