The final 36-player Vic Metro squad to compete in the 2019 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships has been announced, ahead of the carnival’s opening match on Saturday.

There are representatives in the squad from all six NAB League Boys clubs based in metropolitan Melbourne – Calder Cannons, Eastern Ranges, Northern Knights, Oakleigh Chargers, Sandringham Dragons and Western Jets.

* See the full Vic Metro squad for the 2019 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships further down the page.

Oakleigh’s Noah Anderson will take the reins as Vic Metro’s captain, with Chargers teammate Matthew Rowell, Calder skipper Brodie Newman and Sandringham’s Jack Mahony also in the leadership group. The quartet are among 32 top-age players in the squad, alongside four bottom-agers.

Nine squad members represented an Under-18 Australian team that defeated the VFL’s Casey Demons in April: Anderson, Rowell, Mahony, Trent Bianco (Oakleigh), Nick Bryan (Oakleigh), Dylan Williams (Oakleigh), Fischer McAsey (Sandringham), Joshua Worrell (Sandringham) and Emerson Jeka (Western).

Another three members, meanwhile, played for an Under-17 Australian team in a win against the New Zealand Falcons last month: Connor Downie (Eastern), Nikolas Cox (Northern) and Will Phillips (Oakleigh).

Eight of this year’s Vic Metro players were also selected in the 2018 Metro squad: Anderson, Rowell, Mahony, Williams, McAsey, Jeka, Jamieson Rossiter (Eastern) and Ryan Gardner (Northern).

That squad contained 16 players who later made it onto AFL lists for 2019, including first-round NAB AFL Draft picks Ben King (pick no.6 from Sandringham Dragons to Gold Coast), Bailey Smith (no.7 from Sandringham Dragons to Western Bulldogs), Zak Butters (no.12 from Western Jets to Port Adelaide) and Isaac Quaynor (no.13 from Oakleigh Chargers to Collingwood).

Brett Allison takes on the role as Coaching Director and Head Coach of Vic Metro this year, with the former North Melbourne AFL premiership player – who has held development positions at the Kangaroos, Sydney and Melbourne – joined by midfield coaches Martin Allison and Michael Rizio (continuing as Vic Metro coaches), backs coach Ross Smith (also Calder head coach) and forwards coach Travis Cloke (ex-Collingwood and Western Bulldogs AFL player).

The team commences its Under-18 Championships campaign this Saturday against Vic Country at the MCG (in a match to be broadcast live on Fox Footy from 10.30am), before clashes with Western Australia (in WA on Saturday June 8), South Australia (at Alberton Oval on Saturday June 22) and the Allies (at GMHBA Stadium on Friday June 28).

Brett Allison said his role as coach would be to develop the skills all Vic Metro players will need to go on and play at the highest level.

“I’m trying to keep the game of football as simple and enjoyable as I can for these players,” Allison said.

“Most of them have at least three coaches they’re exposed to this season who will each ask them to play different types of footy, but my plan is to let them back their instincts and intuition on the field to show AFL recruiters what they can do.”

2019 UNDER-18 VIC METRO SQUAD