Cobram young gun Matteo Allen has made the final squad of 40 which was revealed by the Bushrangers on Friday, January 28.
From the original 95-man pre-season training squad, which featured 25 Goulburn Murray region products, 14 made the final cut.
There are 10 star juniors from Goulburn Valley League, two from Murray Football League, one from Picola District and Tatura export Brayden George — who now resides in Wangaratta for school commitments.
Shepparton Swans, Shepparton United and Mooroopna have two representations, while Shepparton, Seymour and Euroa have produced one talent each.
Cobram, Rumbalara and Jerilderie are the remaining three football clubs represented in this year’s squad.
Murray Bushrangers lead coach Mark Brown described the arduous selection program for him and his fellow coaches.
Brown also said this wasn’t the end of the road for the unlucky juniors who missed out on featuring in this year’s squad.
“The final list was chosen following 10 weeks of intense pre-season training and practice matches which began back in November,” Brown said.
“Unfortunately, some very talented footballers have missed selection, however, the opportunity to play at the highest level will remain open given the varying stages of football development which is recognised by AFL recruiters.”
This year’s crop of youngsters will look to emulate the efforts of two former Bushrangers.
Swans’ Josh Rachele and Mooroopna’s Tom Brown lived out their childhood dreams of landing on an AFL list during last year’s draft.
The NAB League under-19 season is fast approaching and is scheduled to kick off in April.
Meanwhile, the Bushrangers also unveiled their under-16 boys’ pre-season squad.
The outfit has selected 40 players who will now train ahead of the under-16 campaign.
The initial 40-player squad will be cut down in the coming weeks.
Murray Bushrangers’ under-19 boys’ squad
Matteo Allen (Cobram), Kydan Atkinson (Mooroopna), Ashtyn Atkinson (Rumbalara), James Auld (Shepparton Swans), Max Clohesy (Shepparton Swans), Joeve Cooper (Mooroopna), Charlie Di Stefano (Shepparton United), Boston Dowling (Shepparton), Brayden George (Tatura), Coby James (Mooroopna), Zander Nash (Jerilderie), Fletcher Paul (Euroa), Nicholas Quigg (Seymour), Oscar Ryan (Shepparton United)
Murray Bushrangers’ under-16 boys’ pre-season squad
Coen Ainsworth, Joe Berry, Sam Bicknell, Rueben Bourke, Harry Brown, Hugh Canning, Will Creevey, Harvey Cribbes, Jakob Decker, Daniel Finnimore, Jye Fitzsimmons, Tom Forrest, Riley Frankcombe, Mitchell Grumley, Zac Harding, Ryan Hill, Fraser Jensen, Fearghus Jones, Harry Jones, Ben Kennedy, William Le Deux, Zaydan Leocata, Jack Mathey, Will McCarthy, Harry McMonigle, Ashton McPherson, Mitchell Merra, Lachlan Miotto, Darby Mullins, Oliver Munro, Beau O’Neill, Cohen Paul, Darby Pendergast, Caidan Phillips, Jez Rigoni, Fletcher Seymour, Jack Shanahan, Oliver Sharp, Alex Swinnerton, Mitchell Walters, Oliver Warburton, Jack Whitlock, Matt Whitlock, Darby Wilson
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