Young WA quartet to represent Australia in pair of VFL matches

Four of Western Australia’s most promising 2026 AFL Draft prospects will get the honour of representing Australia in a pair of VFL games in Melbourne over the next week.

Claremont pair Benji van Rooyen and Heath Mellody, West Perth forward Koby LeCras and East Perth half-back Garrison Kenh will feature for the AFL Academy Under-18s side against North Melbourne and Richmond respectively.

The Kangaroos clash is on Sunday at Arden Street Oval from 10.30am WST, while the Tigers game is on next Saturday, April 18, from 10.30am at IKON Park.

Players will have access to AFL club facilities throughout the camp, with training and recovery sessions to be held at Arden Street Oval (North Melbourne), Kennedy Community Centre (Hawthorn), KGM Centre (Collingwood) and NEC Hangar (Essendon).

Both matches will be available to stream live and free on the AFL website and AFL Live Official App.

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“This is a fantastic opportunity for our boys to play alongside the best AFL Draft prospects from around the country and really enhance their draft credentials ahead of the AFL National Under-18s Championship,” WA Football State Talent Manager Adam Jones said.

“It’s exciting to see the program expanded this year to include back-to-back matches against VFL opposition, featuring plenty of AFL-listed players, with a week of AFL-like preparation at AFL club facilities in between.

“During the week they will get the chance to live life AFL athletes with recovery sessions, team meetings, game reviews and game previews to replace the elite level.”

“Having the opportunity to put on the Australia jumper and represent the Australia U18 team is a huge honour for our emerging stars and always the highlight of the Marsh AFL National Academy program,” Marsh AFL National Academy Manager, Tarkyn Lockyer, added.

“One of the aims of the National Academy is to provide new experiences to our up-and-coming stars outside of what is already delivered at their state talent program to best prepare players for the next step in their football journey.

“We’ve changed the program this year to include two matches in one week, which will allowing players to experience a full match week in a high-performance environment.”

Van Rooyen started the EGT WAFL Colts season strongly with 27 disposals 16 hit-outs and a goal in reigning premier Claremont’s win over West Perth at HIF Health Insurance Oval, with LeCras (20 disposals, six marks and a goal) one of the Falcons’ best.

Genh (25 disposals and seven marks) was another big performer in Round 1, helping East Perth to a season-opening win over Subiaco at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.

Mellody didn’t play for Claremont in the opening round due to hamstring soreness but is expected to be fit to play for the AFL Academy.