HAMILTON Kangaroos are well represented in the Under-23 Hampden Interleague Squad with four local talents selected to travel to Melbourne and train for a spot in the final team which will be coached by Brisbane Lions legend, Jonathan Brown.

Ethan Knight, Vincent Huf, Will Povey and Hamish Cook are some of the most exciting young players in the Hampden Football Netball League (HFNL) and have all been in some impressive form in 2024.

The U23 HFNL interleague battle against Ballarat Football Netball League (BFNL) will be at Warrnambool’s Reid Oval next month, with the final team set to be announced following two training sessions early next month.

All members of the 38-man squad will travel to Melbourne tomorrow to meet with Brown and watch North Melbourne take on Collingwood at Marvel Stadium.

The coaching staff is made up of Brown, Adam Dowie, Nathan Vardy, Brad Thomas and Brody Mahoney.

Kangaroos’ coach, Brad Thomas said he was looking forward to being involved with the coaching panel for the first time.

“It will be good to be involved and see some of the best run around against Ballarat which is a really good league,” he said.

“It’s good to promote the U-23 talent, if you look through most of the Hampden sides, the best players in each side are all pretty much Under-23.”

Thomas said it was exciting to see the young talent at the club getting some reward, adding that Rory Gill would’ve also been selected had he not been injured.

“It’s good to see, all of the boys are in with a good shot, Hamish played last year and unfortunately Gilly is injured, otherwise there would’ve been five boys in there,” he said.

“They’re definitely playing some really good footy at the moment, it’s good signs for the way Hamilton is going with young talent, it’s a good representation.”

Knight is fresh off a season with St Mary’s in the Premier Men competition of the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) and has been Hamilton’s best midfielder this season.

It is his first time being selected in the squad and he was hopeful to secure a spot in the team and mix it with some of the best young talent of the HFNL.

“It felt like a bit a reward for effort that I’ve been putting in to hear that I was selected in the squad,” he said.

“My ability to win the contested ball and speed are my strengths, so I will definitely try and showcase both of them at the trainings to try and secure a final spot in the team.”

The 20-year-old said it would be a great test for him individually and an opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches if he was to be selected in the final team.

“I’m definitely looking forward to learning of Browny and I’m just going to try and soak it all up as much as I can, because this opportunity doesn’t come along every day,” Knight said.

“Ballarat will have some quality players as they always do, so it would be just a good experience to play against some of the best young talent going around.”

Cook was part of the U23 final team last year and kicked two goals as a key forward in the match against Ballarat, the spearhead forward has been one of the most exciting in the HFNL over the past couple seasons.

“I feel pretty grateful to be selected in the squad with the names on the list, coaches and players … job’s definitely not done yet though to be selected in the side,” he said.

“(If selected) I hope to just take some good grabs, kick straight (and) showcase a bit of leadership rather than going into my shell.

“I’ve already learnt a lot from last year’s side from Browny, he has a lot to teach and the other coaches next to him are also very easy to work with and learn from.”

The young gun kicked 23 goals in 2022 (his first year of senior football), 28 goals in 2023 and has kicked 13 so far this season including a bag of six against Port Fairy.

Cook said he was looking forward to travelling to Melbourne this weekend with the rest of the squad.

“It’s pretty awesome travelling with the whole squad, it builds a lot of excitement … there is so much talent to be showcased from the league but from our club with Povs, Knighta and Vinnie,” he said.

Vincent Huf has played across half back this season and uses his reach and athleticism to rebound the ball and help to start attacking chains for the Kangaroos.

While Will Povey has played an important role running through the midfield this season locking down some of the opposition’s most damaging players, he has been one of Hamilton’s best in almost half of the matches this year.

The team will have two training sessions in the lead up to the interleague clash, Tuesday July 2at the DC Farran Oval and July 4 at Reid Oval, the final team will be selected after both of these.

Other players selected were Zach Sinnott, Sidney Bradshaw, Hamish Sinnott (Camperdown), Luke Smith, Ben Berry, Ben McGlade (Cobden), Paddy O’Sullivan, Tom Baulch, Mac Petersen, Jack Block, Clem Nagorka, Connor Byrne (Koroit), Jackson Grundy, Jett Bermingham (North Warrnambool), Ollie Myers, Oscar Pollock (Port Fairy), Toby Jennings, Will Hunter (Portland), Isaac Thomas, Riley Thomas, Will White, Max Irving, Archie Stevens, Jay Rantall, Bailey Osborne, Myles McCluggage (South Warrnambool) Ryley Hutchins, Darcy Hobbs, Kane Johnstone, Xavier Vickers (Terang Mortlake), Harry Ruan, Fletcher Timms, Amon Radley and Reggie Mast (Warrnambool).