The Eastern Football Netball League has today announced its final squads for the upcoming AFL Victoria Junior Development Series.
The EFNL will be fielding a one Under 15 Girls side and two Under 14 and Under 15 Boys sides.
The Junior Interleague selection process was trimmed back this season, with the initial mass trial session scheduled for November 2020 unable to go ahead due to COVID restrictions.
Junior Football Manager Corey Maynard expressed his gratitude to all clubs, players and support staff for their efforts throughout the Junior Interleague selection process, which began during the April School Holidays, and congratulated those who had been chosen.
“The challenges and limitations COVID posed meant the selection process for the EFNL Interleague program this year was a lot different to how things have been done in the past,”
“Our inability to have a large trial in November 2020 meant the trial process was trimmed right back,” Maynard said.
“I’d like to commend all of the kids who were selected to participate throughout the trial process, as well as those who were initially nominated by their individual clubs,”
“The League and support staff could not be happier with the quality of the kids involved in 2021,”
“We had a really strong presence from almost every club in all 3 groups which speaks volumes about the depth of the EFNL competition.”
“Congratulations to all of those who have been successful in gaining selection for 2021. It is a fantastic achievement and reward for all of your hard work and dedication to this point, and also some great recognition for all the important people who helped along the way.”
Maynard added that he and the coaching staff have been stunned with the maturity and adaptability shown by the players involved in the program to date and is excited to see the three squads take their long awaited next step along the High Performance journey.
“Interleague is the first major step in these young athletes High Performance journey and this opportunity has been a long time coming for a lot of the kids, so it is a very exciting time,”
“It is also where a lot of the hard work starts, and we have been really impressed with all of our kid’s ability to handle what we’ve thrown at them,”
“The EFNL is really excited about what we are capable of in the AFL Vic Junior Development Series.”
The AFL Victoria Junior Development Series will be played on the Wednesday June 30th and July 7th, with the EFNL sides playing its home games at the Mitcham Football Club’s Walker Park.
View the EFNL Interleague Squads here;