For the third time in 18 months, the Greater Shepparton area will soon play host to a statewide junior football competition.
The V/Line Cup will return to the Goulburn Valley next week with the 2023 event officially launched on Wednesday by City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali.
The under-15 tournament, scheduled to run from Monday, September 25 through Wednesday, September 27, gives more than 600 boys and girls representing seven teams from across Victoria a chance to get noticed ahead of recruiting for upcoming Coates Talent League intakes.
Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve and Princess Park will have games across the three-day carnival, with Mooroopna Recreation Reserve and Rumbalara Football Netball Club due to play host as well.
“We are more than proud to be supporting an event that encourages development of skills and talent of our young people,” Sali said.
“It’s great to have people from regional Victoria coming back to support the community here in Shepparton (after the 2022 floods),” V/Line executive director, network development, assets and maintenance Jonathan McKeown said.
“Some of (the players) will go on to be future AFL stars, but others will be able to develop lifelong skills and develop resilience.”
Much like recent iterations of the tournament, teams will represent Goulburn Murray, North East Border, South East, Greater Western Victoria, Barwon, Bendigo and Gippsland.
Each will field two squads of boys teams as well as a girls contingent for 21 total matches.
Goulburn Murray squad members Liam Broom and Riley Myers were at the launch, the two Shepparton-Notre teammates expressing excitement at their representative berths.
“We’ve put in a lot over the last four or five weeks at training and it’s a very exciting time,” Myers said.
“It’s really good to play against the best kids from all across the state and get to play with the people you play with at your clubs,” Broom said.
Greater Shepparton has hosted the past two editions of the 74-year-old tournament, the first in April 2022, after pandemic restrictions forced it to be moved from its AFL grand final week timeslot the year prior.
It then hosted the regularly scheduled 2022 edition last September.
AFLGM V/Line Cup squads
Division 1 Boys: Campbell Flanagan, Alex Krause, Josh Porter, Archie Wilson, Blake Sofra, Rory Kennedy, Dallas Ornsby, Dash Smith, Archer Hueston, Oliver Watson, Jack Mellington, Oscar Emmanuelli, Angus Williams, Rhys Osborne, Keelin Phillips, Codi Bowden, Baxter Donovan, Lincoln Brand, Riley Myers, Jack Supple, Liam Broom, River Freeman.
Division 2 Boys: Archie Purtle, Ethan Saxon, Liam Sutton, Jayden Thorne, Jack Walters, Van Kreeck, Maelen Allen, Beau Sissons, Judd Tamburro, Addison Godsmark, Lucas O’Hora, Noah Williams, Campbell Baker, Tanner Miller, Spencer Sharp, Cody Montgomery, Tom Hudson, Ben Jeffery, Sam Castles, Jai Sneddon, Wade Melee, Mikael Corso, Jurxhin Bace, Logan White.
Girls Squad: Ariella Vallender, Ashanti Walker, Bella Nave, Carly Martin, Chloe Delia, Claudia Plattfuss, Dayna Kelly, Emily Brunt, Grace Leslie, Harper Delamere, Jammisyn Lavis, Lana Caroll, Leila Creevey, Madison Knight, Madison Sawyer, Matilda Fowler, Nicole Hughes, Phoebe Hawker, Ruby McIver, Ruby McLeod, Savannah Emery, Sophie Butterworth, Tabatha Ingham, Tamika Muller, Tayah Lundberg, Zaliah Kutai.