THIS Sunday the next crop of AFL hopefuls will hit Alexandra Oval as the North Ballarat Rebels take on the Sandringham Dragons in round nine of the TAC Cup.
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Action kicks off at 1pm and admission is free, with a number of Wimmera footballers lining up in the Rebels' under-18 team including Ararat Eagles' Tom Taurau.
Taurau is coming off a best on ground performance for the Mininera and District Football League during last Saturday's WorkSafe Country Championships.
Taurau, in his second season with the Rebels, has played all seven matches with North Ballarat this year and was named in the team's top six performers prior to last weekend's bye round.
"We have been rapt with the way Tom has been playing," AFL Victoria and North Ballarat Rebels talent manager, Phil Partington said.
"He has played in numerous positions, forward and back, and the beauty with Tom is wherever he goes on the ground he makes a positive impact on the game.
"He is training both Tuesday and Thursday nights this season and we are seeing the real benefit of him being in the program and with us all the time."
Partington said Ararat Rats' young gun Tom Williamson was also in line for selection provided he got through school football commitments injury free on Wednesday.
Williamson made his TAC Cup debut in April, playing two matches with the Rebels.
"He is a bottom age player who has had a taste early on and then went back to local senior footy and has been playing well there," Partington said.
"This will be another opportunity for Tom to try and cement his spot. The beauty with the Rebels is we have a very good midfield and our depth is strong, so there will be boys throughout the year coming out due to form and as a bottom age player Tom will learn a lot from the experience and hopefully he can cement his spot ready for next year."
The Rebels are currently sitting atop the TAC Cup ladder with just one loss to their name.
The clash between North Ballarat and the Sandringham Dragons was originally scheduled to be played at Hamilton, however Partington said after utilising the new Alexandra Oval Community and Recreation Centre during their summer program, the club was eager to return during the home and away season.
"We have quite a few Wimmera boys playing, so this is a good chance to showcase their talent at what is a great facility for a regional community," he said.
"This is an opportunity to bring the best under age competition in Australia TAC Cup to the Wimmera again and indeed to Ararat."
Partington said Rebels' head coach David Loader was encouraging local clubs and local coaches to attend the game.
"We'll open our team meeting to the public prior to the game," he said.
"Players will arrive about 11.30am and from 11.45am we will start our team meetings, so we encourage local coaches to come into the rooms and have a listen to what our coaches have to say before the game.
"It is a good opportunity to learn about the preparation and professionalism of a TAC Cup team, because it is a bit different to local footy.
"We did the same during a game in Horsham last season and had quite a number of coaches attend. It is not only good for local players, but also their coaches to see the best quality under-18 footballers in Victoria playing."
The match coincides with White Ribbon Round across all football leagues in Victoria, which is a campaign to help stop violence against women.
Canteen facilities will be available at Sunday's game.