AFL Draft 2023: Vic Metro takes out U16 National Championships as SA’s Dyson Sharp wins MVP

The under-16 championships are done and dusted with the final round of games completed. And a familiar name was among the award winners. All the draft intel here.

Vic Metro took out the under-16 national championships after a nail-biting win over South Australia, but it was Western Australia’s last-quarter surge over Vic Country that ultimately secured them the gong.

With all four teams locked on a win apiece going into the final round of matches on Friday, Vic Metro were top of the group after their five-point win over the Croweaters, which was dominated by Metro MVP Jack Dalton.

SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE STATS AND SUPERCOACH SCORES

The Metro captain and Sandringham Dragons prospect finished with 33 disposals, seven inside 50s, six tackles, two goals and 168 SuperCoach points to cap an eye-catching carnival that put his name up in lights to recruiters.

South Australian midfielder Dyson Sharp put in another strong showing to earn the Kevin Sheehan Medal for the U16 national championships MVP, finishing with 22 disposals, seven inside 50s and 109 SuperCoach points

Jack Dalton was Vic Metro’s MVP. Picture: Getty Images

Vic Metro needed rivals Vic Country to lose in their final game to Western Australia as Country had knocked off Metro earlier in the carnival.

Sure enough, Western Australia produced the goods to notch a 25-point win over Vic Country, led by a stunning six-goal haul from spearhead Darcy Montgomery.

Vic Metro coach Andrew Sturgess lauded another exceptional performance from Dalton and was impressed by the likes of midfielder Ollie Greeves, high-flying forward Archie Ludowyke and interceptor Xavier Taylor.

“Dalton was one of our best (against SA) if not our best, Xavier Taylor played down back and probably had his best game of carnival and was able to intercept mark really well and stop a lot of their attacking thrusts,” Sturgess said.

“(Dalton’s) got incredibly high work rate, he’s really good runner so his capacity to follow up and continue to spread and ability to get to next bit of play is at a very high level.

“Other thing he’s got is intelligent running patterns and he knows where to run and where to go. And when he gets there he is clean and neat with his disposal.

“The thing I was really pleased with is that they bought into the team element. They were pretty geed up to get the win yesterday.”

Willem Duursma in action. Picture: Getty Images

Vic Country coach David Loader was pleased with his side’s response after kicking just one goal for the match earlier in the week against South Australia, highlighting Country MVP and standout Willem Duursma as a standout.

The speedster – who is the sibling of Port Adelaide listed players Xavier and Yasmin, and top 2023 draft prospect Zane – may become the fourth player to be drafted in his family.

“Willem Duursma showed how good a player he is going to be with a really bright future. He won our best and fairest,” Loader said.

“There’s no doubt about there’s a lot to like about the way Willem plays. He’s a tall rangy player with good speed and clean hands so that’s a great starting point.”

VIC METRO v SA STATS AND SUPERCOACH POINTS

METRO

J.Dalton 168

T.Burton 141

O.Greeves 116

X.Taylor 106

L.Dovaston 97

X.Bamert 95

L.Emmett 93

J.Newsome 90

S.Allen 73

C.Whitehead 71

A.Sharkie 68

B.Fergusson 67

F.Kneipp 66

A.Ludowyke

I.Dugdale 58

K.Fincher 56

M.Moate 55

C.Smith 53

T.McGuane 49

T.Gresham 47

J.Gilchrist 46

C.Duff-Tytler 37

F.Davis 27

SA

J.Reichelt 147

D.Sharp 109

N.Roberts-Thomson 95

A.Schubert 93

C.Woods 92

J.Kelly 89

B.Thredgold 78

B.Oudshoorn-Bennier 78

W.Prescott 74

L.Kellaway 73

S.Cumming 72

L.Hughes 67

J.Cook 60

H.Barker 60

L.Candy 59

J.Rozenbilds 55

J.Nye 51

L.Sands 48

G.Downs 42

K.Edwards 37

B.Jamieson 31

D.Cochrane 27

E.Duffield 24

VIC COUNTRY v WA

COUNTRY

W.Duursma 116

P.Blake 108

Z.O’Keefe 108

R.Onley 108

T.Ah-Mu 108

A.Taylor 87

C.McKinnon 85

N.Hibbins-Hargreaves 74

H.Wright 72

G.Posterino 68

J.Scapin 68

H.Hicks 66

J.Lindsay 62

W.Bennett 57

S.Watson 57

T.Bowman 56

B.Rongdit 48

T.Sinnema 42

J.Murray 40

G.Richardson 38

S.Niklaus 36

S.Burnmeister 28

J.Long 24

WA

J.Hill 158

D.Montgomery 157

B.Kelly 129

W.York 110

A.Ross 104

K.Summerell 100

K.Gerreyn 91

M.Cassidy 88

T.Longmuir 88

T.Whan 84

C.Shord 75

H.Heaton 73

B.Hart 69

M.Becker 65

J.Marcello 56

M.Skerritt 52

M.May 49

L.Carpenter 45

L.Carrello 41

J.Aylmore 38

Originally published as AFL Draft 2023: Vic Metro takes out U16 National Championships as SA’s Dyson Sharp wins MVP