By Jonty Ralphsmith
Six local players have been named in the Vic Country summer training hubs.
Toby Sinnema (Devon Meadows), Tairon Ah-Mu (Berwick), Xavier Ladbrook (Nar Nar Goon), Abby Hobson (Pakenham), Rebecca Fitzpatrick (Bunyip), and Maya Crestani (Nar Nar Goon) were selected.
There was a total of 14 Stingrays and 10 Gippslanders across the boys and girls squads.
Selected players take part in two preseason high performance training camps, participating in football and well being programs to provide them for a strong launchpad for 2025.
Dandenong and Gippsland were the most represented squads in the boys summer training hub, with six players from each program.
Among the Stingrays’ boys selected are Devon Meadows product Toby Sinnema and Berwick’s Tairon Ah-Mu.
A Melbourne Next Generation Academy prospect, Sinnema has spent time this month training with the Dees.
The hard running winger also played seven senior games for Devon Meadows this year in between his Stingrays commitments.
Ah-Mu is a strong contested marking forward who averaged two goals per game.
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves, Max Lee, Marcus Prasad and Josh Granger were the other Dandenong players selected.
Hibbins-Hargreaves was part of the Vic Country squad in 2024 as a bottom-aged player and is part of the 2025 AFL Academy.
Lee had his 2024 season cut short due to injury but was part of Dandenong’s leadership group, Prasad is a diminutive bottom-aged forward who represented Vic Country at the under-16s national championships and Granger is a developing key-position prospect.
Bottom-aged Nar Nar Goon tall Xavier Ladbrook was also included, and projects as a raw and mobile marking player to watch for Gippsland next year.
Top-10 prospect Willem Duursma, silky Inverloch-Kongwak local Jobe Scapin, Adelaide father-son prospect Mitch Stevens, bottom-aged contested marking specialist Wil Malady and elusive small Zach O’Keefe were the other Gippsland boys to make the squad.
Eight Stingrays girls made the squad: skilful twins Mizuki and Nalu Brothwell, bottom-aged netballer/footballer Alice Cunnington, forward Molly Reimers, left-footer Matilda Argus, tenacious midfielder Lily Snow and bottom-aged player Zoe Zach.
From Gippsland, four players were selected including Pakenham’s own Hobson, a strong marking forward who averaged a goal per game with Gippsland and kicked four goals in the senior women’s grand final for Pakenham this year.
Nar Nar Goon ruck Crestani also made the squad in a nod to her rapid development in 2024 which impressed those within Gippsland.
Smart Bunyip utility Rebecca Fitzpatrick was also selected alongside rebounder Ella Stoddart, who was part of the Vic Country squad as a bottom-ager in 2024.
