Malcolm Rosas has been selected to represent the Allies in Round 1 of the 2019 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships this Sunday.
Rosas is the standalone NT representative selected for the first game against Vic Country with fellow Territorians and draft-year potentials, Ben Jungfer and Beau O’Connell hopeful of getting their chances at a later date.
17-year-old Joel Jeffrey, the fourth NT player selected in the extended Allies squad this year, is considered a ‘bottom age’ player who won’t come into his draft year until 2020, so will continue to hone his skills and play competitive football with the NT Thunder NEAFL side.
Rosas and Jeffrey both played for NT Thunder last Saturday and were immediate standouts, earning the praise of Thunder Head Coach, Darren Reeves for their pressure acts, silky skills and quick pace.
AFLNT Talent and Pathways Manager, Wally Gallio said Rosas hadn’t played much representative football this year due to injury but was ready to fire.
“Mally had some leg then back issues, and on the medical advice we received both locally and at a national level, it was determined that we should take things slowly and allow him enough time to rehabilitate.
He is now ready to go and show everyone why he has been selected for the Allies; he possesses elite leg speed, and his tackling pressure will make him quite handy playing forward while his goal sense will give him the edge over the opposition,” Gallio said.
For more information on the NAB AFL Under 18s visit the AFL website: https://www.afl.com.au/news/game-development/nab-afl-rising-star-program/u18s
NAB AFL Under 18 National Championships
Round 1
Allies vs Vic Country
12:30pm AEST, Sunday 9 June
UTAS Stadium, Tasmania