Geelong scholarship holder Ranga Ediriwickrama will captain New South Wales at the national under 18 championships that begin this week.

The 17 year old Ediriwickrama is in his first season as a scholarship player with the Cats. The program was implemented by the AFL in 2006 to further develop young players from NSW.

“Ranga continues to develop as a player,” Geelong recruiting manager Stephen Wells said.

“He is a natural leader and plays mainly as an inside player. He’s a smart player and we’re really pleased with how he has continued to improve his game. The championships will be another opportunity for him to play against elite juniors and to show the improvements that he has made in his game.”

Ediriwickrama plays with Pennant Hills in the Sydney premier league and played two games with the Sydney Swans reserves before joining the Cats under the program. This is his last season in the scholarship program, with the club having the option of adding him to the senior or rookie list before the 2008 draft.

He represented NSW in last year’s championship was named as the state’s most valuable player. Ediriwickrama also played in Geelong’s intra-club hit out in February this year.

NSW will take on Queensland, Northern Territory and Tasmania in the second division of the national championships. The leading two teams from division two will then take on Vic Country, Vic Metro, Western Australia and South Australia for the division one title.