South Australia will kick of its Under-18 National Championship campaign against NSW-ACT at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday.
The match will also mark the return of highly-touted 17-year-old James Aish. Aish, who had post-season shoulder surgery, hasn’t played since SANFL Grand Final day where he starred in Norwood’s win over West Adelaide.
The skilful midfielder has been named vice-captain of the SA Under-18 team along with Glenelg teenager and fellow AIS-AFL Academy member Matt Scharenberg. Woodville-West Torrens midfielder Luke Dunstan will captain the side.
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Crows National Recruiting Manager Hamish Ogilvie and his team will be keen observers at the match in Western Sydney. Ogilvie said it was important the Club was across all the talent in the draft pool, despite currently holding a pick until the third round – likely to be in the 40s or 50s.
“We’ve still got to cover the top 25 players in the draft because someone always slips through. We might rate a player really highly,” Ogilvie said.
“He might be top of our list, but lower on other Club’s lists. Also, you never know what’s going to happen years down the track. A player might come up as a trade or free agent, so it’s important you do the due diligence and know the background of as many players as possible.
“You’ve got to do the work.”
From Western Sydney, recruiters from each of the 18 clubs will head to Launceston to watch Tasmania take on Western Australia. The Champs kicked off last week, with Victoria Country defeating the Northern Territory and Victoria Metro accounting for Queensland.
The SA team to play NSW-ACT is:
F: (14) Alex Spina, (32) Mitch Harvey, (24) Luke Reynolds
HF: (13) Riley Knight, (27) Matt Scharenberg, (3) Malcolm Karpany
C: (9) Dwayne Wilson, (20) Luke Dunstan, (16) James Aish
HB: (17) Sean Lemmens, (28) Darcy Hourigan, (29) Jake Pitt
B: (7) James Battersby, (31) Cameron Giles, (18) Josh Pitson
R: (40) Peter Steffe, (8) Campbell Combe, (21) Trent Dumont
INT: (5) Zac Bates, (15) Peter Bampton, (36) Jonathon Ross, (19) George Hewett, (1) Jake Johansen
