TAC Cup: Northern Knights set for bumper draft crop in coming years after 11 players win under-16 Vic Metro selection
A BUMPER draft crop will emerge at Northern Knights in coming years if this season’s Vic Metro under-16 squad is anything to judge by.
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A BUMPER draft crop will emerge at Northern Knights in coming years if this season’s Vic Metro under-16 squad is anything to judge by.
The Knights had 11 players chosen in the squad, a feat talent manager Rhy Gieschen attributed to the club’s development staff.
“We identified that we had a talented group of under-16s coming into this carnival about 12 months ago,” Gieschen said.
“The staff did a fantastic job to work on their strengths and areas of improvement to ensure that the players reached their potential.
“(It is) fantastic to see so many players recognised as high-potential players of the future by being selected in the squad.”
Two players were chosen from Diamond Creek (Ewan MacPherson and Ben Major), St Mary’s (Regan Uwandu and Jaden Collins), Fitzroy (Josh Watson and Rhys Seakins) and Eltham (Liam McMahon and Lorne Waldron).
Ethan Cheesewright (Ivanhoe), Zac Reichart (Laurimar) and Joel Trugeon (Research) were also picked.
“We are all really looking forward to watching them continue to develop and push their case to make the final squad,” Gieschen said.
MacPherson is the younger brother of Gold Coast’s Darcy, who was drafted from the Knights in 2015 and has become a regular fixture in the Suns’ team this year.
Vic Metro’s under-16 national championships campaign starts on June 23 with a clash against Vic Country at Princes Park.
The remaining matches against Western Australia and South Australia will be played in Queensland.
Four under-18 Knights are in contention for the final Vic Metro squad — Mark Baker, Ryan Gardner, Tom Hallebone and Tom McKenzie.
Gieschen said the Knights wanted “to be judged on the growth and improvement of each player in the program”.
“We want to ensure that we are giving the most talented players in the region the opportunity to develop their football as much as they possibly can,” he said.
“We will certainly blood some 16 and 17-year-old talent in the TAC (Cup) team throughout the year.”
The Knights fielded an average of 10 bottom-age TAC Cup players in the opening six rounds of 2018, highlighting the depth of their emerging talent.
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