The Sandringham Dragons and Eastern Ranges will face off in the Coates Talent League Grand Final on Saturday.
The match will start at Ikon Park at 1:00pm, with Sandringham gunning for its fourth consecutive flag after winning its finals by 10, 18 and 53 points.
The Ranges will be vying for its first flag since 2013, after winning its finals by 51, 48 and 89 points.
There are a host of highly touted AFL Draft prospects on show, including Lachy Dovaston, Xavier Taylor, Sullivan Robey, Ollie Greeves and Jack Dalton.
Eastern Ranges
Talent pathway clubs are usually reluctant to take too much credit in the development of players, pointing to players' hard work and that of volunteers at local clubs.
Some regions, such as Sandringham, are blessed with a strong junior league which feeds the club and host of private schools, with boarders on sports scholarships often playing for Sandringham – Ryley Sanders, Charlie Edwards, and Sam Marshall are some recent examples.
Granted, the Ranges region includes the competition that feeds the renowned Eastern Football Netball League, but the program deserves a mountain of credit for its talent spotting in 2025.
Of the eight players invited to the boys combine from the Ranges, just three played for Vic Metro at the U18s National Championships.
Rod Ali was brought in as a 19-year-old, with the Ranges keeping tabs on him for several years, recognising the upside but, until this pre-season, failing to convince him to swap basketball for footy.
Ruck Marcus Krasnadamskis nearly represented Australia's U19s basketball side, but the Ranges kept an eye on him playing local footy, which was his release at the time from the rigours of basketball.
Offered the opportunity to return to the Ranges, having been listed last year but unable to play due to basketball, which he has since given up, Krasnadamskis jumped at the opportunity and was given an environment to thrive.
While Ali and Krasnadamskis were plucked from the relative obscurity of a different sport, Sully Robey and Oskar Taylor are equally pleasing stories in different ways.
Robey wasn't on a Coates League list early in 2025, overlooked by Dandenong Stingrays as a 16-year-old, but a five-game stretch for local senior side Rowville convinced the Ranges to bring him in.
His power, strength, toughness, and skill have since propelled him into the top-10 calculations in the eyes of some.
Oskar Taylor, meanwhile, has transformed from a role-playing halfback as a bottom-ager to one of the best kicks in the 2025 AFL Draft crop, with his speed also helping vault him into first-round considerations.
The progress of Xavier Taylor, who has become a top-10 contender after starting the year as an anonymous prospect, Lachy Dovaston, who missed the AFL Academy yet is now the consensus best small forward, and Vic Metro's MVP, Ollie Greeves, is all further evidence of brilliant development.
The Ranges also have a strong crop of bottom-agers, and were the most represented side at the Under-17s Futures Trials at Casey Fields last month, with Jaden Lawrence, Archie Spencer, Jordan Knapp, Mitch Gillan and Harrison Chapman.
The development of Lawrence, a ruck, is particularly noteworthy. There were questions about whether the Ranges had enough quality height this year, but Lawrence's work and the mid-season addition of Krasnadamskis have put that question to bed.
Gillan is another prototype Ranges story; having never played representative footy before this year, he's come in and nailed down a spot in the Ranges lineup.
The stories go on and on.
Captain Andrew Barker missed Vic Metro's U16s and represented Vic Metro's U18s in three of their four games.
Mitch Buckland has made his mark in six games since returning from back-to-back knee injuries.
Bottom-aged U16s Vic Metro representative Zac Antonellos wasn't expected to feature this year due to a syndesmosis injury, but is now an important part of the Ranges' forward line.
The Ranges have as strong a squad as any non-Sandringham side has possessed since the pandemic and are well-positioned to break the Dragons' streak.
Sandringham Dragons
The Dragons will on Saturday be vying for a record-equalling fourth straight flag.
However, unlike previous years, where they have been the clear standout come September with a list chock-full of future AFL players, this year's roster is lighter at the top end.
While Eastern Ranges could have five names read out in the first round, Sandringham's only likely first rounder is a player who won't feature on Saturday – forward Archie Ludowyke, who is sidelined with a PCL injury.
Jack Dalton is the only Sandringham player that will feature who has a national combine invite, and his form throughout September has been as good as any junior player in the country.
Dalton has led the midfield with authority, and he, Kye Fincher and Rory Wright, in particular, have benefited from Sandringham's deep run.
Dalton went into the U18s National Championships with limited footy under his belt due to an arm injury, but has proven his ability to stand up on the big stage, with improved composure with the footy complementing his trademark running power.
Wright and Fincher swapped roles in September; Wright moved from midfield to halfback, and the St Kilda Next Generation Academy prospect transitioned from defence to an on-ball role.
Wright's read of the play, toughness and intercepting have enhanced his stocks, while Fincher has added another string to his bow with his athleticism and strength in the midfield.
Unheralded names such as Willis Reidy and Ollie Griffin have also made a mark throughout the finals.
However, the top-end names are fewer than those of their opponents, so it will therefore be down to Sandy's depth to lift them over the top of a star-studded Eastern Ranges lineup.
Sandringham will go into the game with at least seven bottom-agers: Arki Butler, George Dimer, Gus Teixeira, Tyson Bradley, Hank Thomas and Jasper Noorbergen.
For comparison, Sandringham has played only three bottom-agers in each of their three flags since 2022.
Teixeira, in particular, has impressed in the midfield, while three of the aforementioned seven are holding key posts in the backline.
The Dragons' region is a mecca for junior talent, with the South Metro Junior Football League one of the highest standard local junior leagues in the state, while the program benefits enormously from its close proximity to Melbourne's elite private schools.
Key matchups
Marcus Krasnadamskis v Miles Tyrer: Krasnadamskis is one of many Ranges players to have built into form at the right time. After getting on top of top-five prospect Cooper Duff-Tytler in the quarterfinals, he was one of the best last week against mature-bodied Flynn Penry, who had his measure last time. Miles Tyrer and Julian Galbally will be tough tasks, with Tyrer in particular coming off a strong performance where he showed an improved ability to get involved around the ground.
Ollie Greeves v Sacha Levine: Greeves is coming off a 35-disposal, four-goal game that reminded the industry of his talent as a bustling midfielder and will be keen to finish his junior career on a high. Levine, meanwhile, is enormously rated internally and has shown a capability of going head-to-head with the big boys at stoppage.
Kye Fincher v Sully Robey: It will be intriguing to see how much time Robey, who has bolted into top 10 considerations, spends in the midfield. He has shown an ability to be an engine-room enforcer but has spent more time off half forward. Regardless, when he does go in there, Fincher looms as a likely direct opponent, with both powerful, quick, big-bodied and skilful.
Arki Butler v Xavier Taylor: Taylor has played on all sorts in 2025, and getting the better of a smaller, mobile forward would be the cherry on top of a terrific season of improvement. The pair played on each other when the two teams squared off earlier in the season, with Butler kicking two goals. Butler is one of the most prodigiously talented bottom-agers with plenty of tricks.
In the club's words
Eastern Ranges talent lead Danny Ryan on …Strength of the program: “We certainly thought we had a solid group, we probably didn't expect to be the spike of performances in the back end of the year by the majority of our squad. It was pleasing our top end talent all started well and the ones who were sluggish in the middle part of the year have started to hit some form well and our bottom aged players have come along quicker than we expected…as the year went on, it painted a picture we would be thereabouts at the back end of the year and we've hit some really good form at the right time so it's a little bit of a surprise but not a major shock."
Coach Lauren Morecroft: “She's been terrific for the program and fantastic for the boys coming through. She's got that ability to set players up in their roles and make it very clear what their roles are for the week…She backs them in, and they go out there with a lot of confidence that they've done the work during the week. I feel like the boys are playing for her. There's a lot of respect from our playing group towards LJ, and it's mutual back, so I think it's a really good relationship she's built with the players, and there's a lot of faith there."
Difficulty of selection: “It's a really tough one. I can't help but keep thinking this week of those kids who have played a huge part in the year and won't be part of the weekend. It's a bit like draft night, you get excited about the players who get drafted, but there's a number who don't get drafted, and that's where my thoughts are this week, I've got mixed emotions this week. I'm really happy for the 23 players who will run out for the boys and girls, but there's another 10 to 12 who have played big roles but will miss out, but that's the by-product of having a strong team and making grand finals that there will be players who miss out.”
Sandringham Dragons coach Rob Harding on …
Jack Dalton's improvement: “His composure with ball in hand is what's gone through the roof in the last four to five weeks and we spoke a lot about looking short and trying to hit shorter targets and he's a nice neat kick technically and through the back end of pre-season we were going to work on it before the injury but we've just had a chance to start doing it now and he's very coachable Jack, he comes every week, does edits with me, is right across his game, knows what he's doing and he's seen the benefits of using the ball better in transition and times when he can get one two three four possessions in a chain to use his running power to run and overlap, I think that's been the bit of his game that's grown most on-field.”
Rory Wright: “I'm reticent to make player comparisons, but the only comparison I've got for Rory Wright is Luke Hodge, and I don't say it lightly because that's one of the greats. But in terms of Luke Hodge at halfback – reading the play, getting to the right spots, directing teammates, setting everything up, kicking the ball well, putting himself in the hole, that's Rory Wright. I think he's an AFL player clearly, and when teams get him in, they're going to be pretty impressed with what he's able to do straight away.”
The bottom-agers: "Tyson Bradley's intercept marking is elite. He, Hank Thomas and Jasper Noorbergen all complement each other well and were the standout defenders of pre-season, so got a game and we've stuck with them. Gus Teixeira has been unbelievable. He's a bottom-ager who's been in our midfield. He's held his spot there, he's so strong in the contest. We played him a bit wing earlier in the wing, and I thought that might be where he ends up, but he's just bullied his way into being an inside midfielder for us, which we love, and he's strong in the contest and transitions out really well. We're bullish on next year's group. The three key backs, Teixeira, (Jack) Surkitt, (Arki) Butler."
