SEVEN players from newly crowned national champion Vic Metro have made it into the 2011 NAB AFL Under-18 All Australian team announced on Saturday.
Metro was undefeated in five games at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, which concluded on Thursday.
South Australia contributed six players, four came from Vic Country, two each from Western Australia and Tasmania and one Northern Territorian round out the 22-man squad.
Jonathon Patton, Stephen Coniglio and Chad Wingard, the prospective top-three seleections at this year's NAB AFL Draft, were all selected in the team and appear set to follow in the footsteps of some celebrated former teammates.
"Many of the All Australians will be playing AFL football this time next year," AFL national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said.
"Dyson Heppell, Shaun Atley, Tom Liberatore and Harley Bennell are some of last year's All Australians that are now household names."
Fifteen players selected to the latest All Australian team are eligible for the 2011 national draft, while 'bottom-aged' players Sam Mayes and Lachie Whitfield will be eligible for the draft in 2012.
Four players - Brad Crouch, Jaeger O’Meara, Ben Kennedy and Brodie Grundy - all turned 17 before April 30, 2011, and can nominate before August 1 this year for the 'mini draft' that is part of the GWS Giants' entry conditions for the 2012 season.
The Giants do not have the right to claim these players for themselves, but can trade with any of the other 17 AFL clubs who can then gain selection rights to this pool of players. Up to four selections across 2011 and 2012 can be traded by GWS to the other teams in the League, with the Giants to decide how those selections will be split.
GWS can trade with other clubs for the right to select in the mini draft during trade week (October 10-17), with the mini draft to be conducted after the conclusion of trade week, on the afternoon of Monday, October 17.
One player, Northern Territorian Jed Anderson, is zoned to GWS and has already played for the club in the NEAFL competition. Anderson decided to return to Darwin earlier this year, but will re-join the Giants ahead of their inaugural season.
Vic Metro's title-winning coach Rohan Welsh was named All Australian coach, with Tasmania's Matthew Armstrong his assistant.
The All Australian team was selected by AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan, AIS-AFL academy high performance coach Michael O'Loughlin and AFL club recruiters, Kinnear Beaton (Sydney Swans), Jason Taylor (Collingwood), Simon Dalrymple (Western Bulldogs), Wayne Hughes (Carlton) and Neville Stibbard (GWS Giants).
2011 NAB AFL Under-18 All Australian team:
Defenders: Jed Anderson (NT), Michael Talia (Vic Metro), Brandon Ellis (Vic Metro), Brad Crouch (Vic Country), Brody Mihocek (Tas), Alex Forster (SA)
Midfield: Billy Longer (Vic Metro), Dom Tyson (Vic Metro), Stephen Coniglio (WA), Jaeger O’Meara (WA), Toby Greene (Vic Metro), Will Hoskin-Elliott (Vic Metro)
Forwards: Chad Wingard (SA), Sam Mayes (SA), Lachie Whitfield (Vic Country), Ben Kennedy (SA), Jonathon Patton (Vic Metro), John McKenzie (Tas)
Interchange: Mitchell Grigg (SA), Brodie Grundy (SA), Taylor Adams (Vic Country), Clay Smith (Vic Country)
Coach: Rohan Welsh (Vic Metro)
Assistant Coach: Matt Armstrong (TAS)
Last Modified on 09/07/2011 19:28