MIDFIELDER Jacob Hopper will lead New South Wales-ACT into its first game of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships on Saturday, when the Rams take on Tasmania at Southport.
The clash will be live streamed on AFL.com.au with thanks to Telstra from 10am local time before the Queensland and Northern Territory game at 12.30pm from Fankhauser Reserve.
Hopper is among the best handful of prospects in this year's NAB AFL Draft, but is tied to Greater Western Sydney as a zone academy player out of the Riverina.
He was named co-captain alongside Callum Mills for NSW-ACT during this year's division two championships, but Mills will not play any part in the Rams' campaign as he deals with an ongoing shin injury.
The defending title holders will also be without impressive midfielder Matthew Kennedy, who will miss eight weeks with stretched knee ligaments. Scans confirmed this week the GWS academy prospect had no tears or structural damage.
Mitchell Hibberd, Kieran Lovell, Logan Reynolds and Jordan Hayden will be among the players to watch for Tasmania, with Hayden named captain of the side in 2015.
Hibberd, a running half-back, has picked up some good form after missing last year following knee and shoulder reconstructions.
NSW/ACT (from)
1 Fletcher Carroll
2 Luke McKay
3 Connor Byrne
4 Harry Brill
5 Lachlan Hayres
6 Brydan Hodgson
7 Callum Mills
8 Matthew Kennedy
9 Jock Cornell
10 Charlie Bance
11 Tyler Roos
12 Michael Mattingly
13 Jake Brown
14 Jackson Kelly
15 Lachlan Flagg
16 Anthony Treacy
17 Harvey Daniher
18 Nelson Foley
19 Matthew Wilson
20 Callum McFadden
21 Thomas Faul
22 Nick Coughlan
23 Harrison Macreadie
24 Harrison Himmelberg
25 Jake Veale
26 Jayden Rymer
27 Ryan Hebron
28 Matthew Flynn
29 Lachlan Behagg
30 Joshua Ryan
31 Shaun Mannagh
32 Thomas Powell
33 Lachlan Moore
34 Matthew Klemke
35 Andrew Sierakowski
36 Lachlan Tiziani
37 Levi Middleton
38 Zachary Sproule
39 Samuel Simmons
40 Brayden Kilpatrick
41 Jacob Hopper
42 Kobe Mutch
43 Dylan McDonald
44 Harry Tanner
45 Jake Marshall
46 William Setterfield
47 Lachlan Ryan
48 Mitchell Wright
49 Harrison Payne
50 Josh Minogue
51 Timothy Coenen
52 Alex Johnston
53 Dylan Sanderson
54 Nathan Cooper
55 Lachlan Leeds
56 Ned Reinhard
57 Samuel Wilson
58 Max Canfield
59 Kyle Galloway
60 Darcy Baron-Hay
Tasmania (from)
1 Kieran Lovell
2 Logan Reynolds
3 Jake Sushames
4 Tyler Gavralas
5 Jack Donnellan
6 Jordan Hayden
7 Jack Bilson
8 Alex Blair
9 Kyle Palmer-Hughes
10 Harrison Pearce
11 Brady Quinn
12 Ryan Gardner
13 Luke Webb
14 Nicholas Dodge
15 Weston Tate-Turvey
16 Brandon Batchelor
17 Zac Buechner
18 Ben McGuinness
19 Marcus Haley
20 Mitchell Hodgetts
21 Mitchell Rainbird
22 Mitchell Hibberd
23 William Fisher
24 Andrew Jones
25 Jesse Johnson
26 Nat Franklin
27 Jack Crossin
28 Isaac Franks
29 Cameron Brown
30 Liam Smith
31 Connor Pearton
33 Logan Bissett
34 Jhdara Jones
35 Callum Kilpatrick
36 Ethan Stephenson
37 Shaun Worker
38 Ben Kamaric
39 Manassah Dare-Bonnici
