2023 Torrens University SA U18 squad members set to shine on Gather Round

By ZAC MILBANK

South Australia’s most talented teenagers are embracing the Gather Round spotlight as selectors release a 34-player Torrens University SA U18 squad to contest the 2023 AFL National Championships in June.

The Torrens University SANFL U18 and U16 competitions will be the only ones in action throughout metropolitan Adelaide this weekend as the AFL’s Gather Round engulfs Adelaide with excitement.

Matches between North Adelaide and Sturt at Prospect (Richmond) and Woodville-West Torrens and Norwood (West Coast) at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval will be played after the AFL clinics and player appearances, with AFL club scouts likely to be spread across all matches.

Featuring four AFL Academy members and two Hostplus SANFL League rookies, the Croweaters will play four matches in four weeks with two at Thebarton Oval and two interstate.

SANFL Talent Academies Manager Tony Bamford will again coach the talented crop which includes exciting AFL Academy forwards Ashton Moir and Jack Delean, together with prominent midfielders Kane McAuliffe and Will Patton.

Composed Norwood defender Logan Evans and Woodville-West Torrens spearhead Patrick Weckert should benefit from their experiences in the opening rounds of the Hostplus SANFL League.

Eight underage players eligible for the 2024 AFL Draft have also been chosen, headlined by father-son prospects Tyler Welsh (Adelaide) and Rome Burgoyne (Port), as well as talented ruck Tom Luck and midfielder Sid Draper, the younger brother of Collingwood’s Arlo Draper.

In the coach’s box, Bamford will again be assisted by Chris Smelt, Gavin Hughes, Ben Nelson and Jack Hannath while newly-appointed SANFL Pathways Player & Coach Developer Heath Younie and former Port Adelaide SANFL mentor Matt Lokan also join the team in 2023.

South Australia will face the Allies (June 4) and Victoria Metro (June 11) at Thebarton Oval before hitting the road for contests against Victoria Country (June 18) in Melbourne and Western Australia (June 24) in Perth.