TWELVE QUEENSLANDERS CHOSEN FOR ANNUAL ALLIES CHAL
Twelve Queenslanders will play in this year's Allies U18 Challenge game in Melbourne in AFL Grand Final week.
It is the last chance for prospective draftees to strut their stuff in front of AFL talent scouts and will pit players from Queensland, NSW, ACT, NT and Tasmania against a combined Victorian U18 selection.
Selection was headed by AIS / AFL Academy coach Alan McConnell with input from each of the state bodies.
In a further endorsement of Queensland's highly-regarded talented player pathway, selected were Mt.Gravatt's Joel Smouha, Matthew Davis and Shane Rogerson, Morningside's Ben Gibson, Zillmere's Brendan Whitecross and Rhys Magin, Broadbeach's Dayne Zorko and Darin Stewart, Labrador's Mathew Clarke and Daniel Stewart and Southport's Daniel Britain and James Mulligan.
Zillmere's Joey Daye and Morningside's Daniel Webb are emergency players and may get a call-up if any of the chosen 22 are unable to play.
Fellow Queenslande draft hopefuls Sam Reid and David Hill (Zillmere), John Williams (Morningside) and Jake Spencer (Redland) could not be considered due to injury.
The annual Allies Challenge will be played in Melbourne on the Thursday on Grand Final week - 27 September - at a venue still to be confirmed.
It will make for a busy time for AFLQ players still involved in the finals of the Velocity Sports Cup senior and reserves competition.
Already Smouha's Mt.Gravatt side has booked a spot in the grand final at Carrara on 23 September so he'll head to Melbourne just two days after the premiership decider.
The same will apply to anyone else who is fortunate enough to be playing on the last day of the AFLQ season.
The following week Smouha, Reid, Hill, Day, Mulligan, Whitecross and Williams will head to the AIS in Canberra for the NAB AFL Draft camp from 2-5 October, and Brittain, Clarke, Davis, Jesse Fewkes, Gibson, Cameron Josiah, Magin, Rogerson, Spencer, Daniel Stewart, Darin Stewart and Zorko will head to Melbourne for the State Screening program on 6 October.
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