AFL Draft 2023: Under 18 championships news, standouts from Vic Country v Vic Metro

The SuperCoach points are in for the final game of the under-18 national champs – with one young gun shooting the lights out with a 191-point game. See the full scores here.

Luamon Lual, Harley Reid and Joel Freijah enjoy a Vic Country goal. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Top-10 draft prospect Zane Duursma put his name up in lights in the final game of the AFL under-18 national championships with the second-highest rated match of the tournament.

Duursma racked up 191 SuperCoach points in a 31-point win over Vic Metro, spearheading his team to its second win of the tournament.

Playing as a medium-sized forward, Duursma logged 22 disposals, 10 marks, 15 score involvements, six score assists and kicked 4.2.

The performance ranked behind only Ryley Sanders’ first match for the Allies, when the Tasmanian racked up 211 SuperCoach points on the back of 35 disposals, seven clearances, seven tackles and two goals.

Bottom-aged midfielder Levi Ashcroft was the top-rated Vic Metro player in the final game of the tournament with 112 ranking points.

The younger brother of Brisbane rising star nominee Will Ashcroft, Levi is eligible to join the Lions as a father-son in 2024.

Zane Duursma celebrates one of his four goals for Vic Country. Picture: Paul Kane/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Melbourne father-son prospect Kynan Brown – the son of former Demon, Nathan – capped a consistent national championships campaign with 20 disposals and five clearances through the midfield for a total of 108 SuperCoach points.

VIC COUNTRY v VIC METRO SUPERCOACH SCORES

VIC COUNTRY

191 – Zane Duursma

115 – Finn O’Sullivan

101 – Tom Anastasopoulos

91 – Archer Reid

89 – Harley Reid

87 – Darcy Wilson

84 – George Stevens

83 – Lachlan Smith

83 – Harry De Mattia

81 – Luamon Lual

80 – Joel Freijah

73 – Kade De La Rue

69 – Wil Dawson

68 – Oskar Smartt

67 – Oscar Ryan

64 – Oliver Poole

59 – Kobe Shipp

55 – Oscar Gawith

54 – Angus Hastie

49 – Noah Mraz

47 – Jacob Grant

18 – Cooper Hynes

Levi Ashcroft could join his brother Will at the Lions. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos via Getty Images

VIC METRO

112 – Levi Ashcroft

108 – Kynan Brown

107 – Archie Roberts

102 – William Green

101 – Matthew Carroll

89 – Ollie Murphy

88 – Jagga Smith

85 – Mahmoud Taha

73 – Will Lorenz

72 – Jordan Croft

71 – Charlie Harrop

67 – Nicholas Watson

65 – Nathan Philactides

63 – Caleb Windsor

61 – Nate Caddy

52 – Josh Smillie

52 – Cameron Nyko

49 – William Brown

40 – Brayden Laplanche

37 – Tarkyn O’Leary

33 – Christian Mardini

29 – Harvey Johnston

6 – Logan Morris

Brothers of AFL guns put on show for scouts

Vic Country forward Zane Duursma gave recruiters a timely reminder of his enormous potential as he put on a show in the final match of the AFL under-18 national championships on Sunday.

Considered a potential top-five pick entering the season, Duursma had looked like being a draft slider after a relatively quiet first three matches of the championships.

However, the Gippsland Power product left his best for last as he helped propel Vic Country to a 31-point win over Vic Metro in the final game of the tournament at Princes Park.

Duursma finished with 22 disposals, 10 marks and four goals in a best-on-ground performance.

The younger brother of Port Adelaide’s Xavier Duursma booted three of his majors in the space of eight minutes during an all-important third quarter which set up the win for Vic Country.

A medium-sized forward at 189cm, Duursma played almost exclusively across half-forward during the match after splitting his time between midfield and forward roles for much of this year.

An X-Factor player, he possesses explosive speed, silky skills, is a nice mark and is clever around goals.

Harley Reid takes a powerful grab. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Duursma’s Gippsland Power teammate Archer Reid also produced his best performance of the championships against Vic Metro to firm as a top-25 draft prospect.

Also playing in the forward line, the 203cm Reid was particularly impressive with his marking early in the contest and took four grabs inside 50 in the opening quarter alone.

The younger brother of Essendon defender Zach Reid, he finished the match with eight disposals, seven marks and 2.2, showing enough to suggest he could be a serious player at AFL level in years to come.

Expected No.1 draft pick Harley Reid was Vic Country’s leading disposal winner with 24 touches playing onball throughout the match.

Reid also logged 11 clearances, with his strength, power and signature fend-off meaning little stood in his way around the contest.

The performance capped a strong national championships for the Bendigo Pioneers product, who was named as Vic Country’s MVP for the tournament.

Reid had entered the championships underdone after a lengthy lay-off following a concussion in May.

“It was pretty interrupted at the start,” Reid said.

“I just sat full-forward at times and tried to build up the tank over the last four weeks.

“It’s good to take on new roles. I loved playing up forward. I love playing anywhere on the ground.”

Key defender Ollie Murphy was named Vic Metro’s MVP, capping a strong championships which has seen him bolt into contention to be a first-round draft selection.

Rebounding defender Archie Roberts (24 disposals) and bottom-age midfielders Levi Ashcroft (27 disposals) and Jagga Smith (22 disposals) were among Vic Metro’s better players on Sunday.

Small forward Nick Watson made the most of limited opportunities in attack with four goals, backing up from a five-goal haul against Western Australia the previous week.

Originally published as AFL Draft 2023: Under 18 championships news, standouts from Vic Country v Vic Metro