AFL Academy member Sonny Smiler is set to play a one-off game for Talent League club Bendigo Pioneers.
The Northern Territory prospect trained with the Pioneers on Wednesday and will line up against Dandenong Stingrays at Shepley Oval at 12.45 pm on Saturday.
There has been a desire to get him an extra game in Victoria's premium talent pathway competition for several weeks given the lack of football currently being played in his native territory.
He will be Bendigo's 24th player, with Dandenong Stingrays also set to have the option to play with 24 players.
An invite to the AFL National Combine underlines the interest which surrounds the speedster, who played all four games for the Allies at the Under-18s National Championships and the first AFL Academy game against VFL opposition earlier this year. He was also named best afield in the Northern Territory Futures game earlier this year.
He also played all four of Northern Territory Academy's Talent League games earlier this year, including a 16-disposal, one-goal performance against the Pioneers. He averaged 14 disposals and five tackles and kicked five goals.
A raw forward with flair and confidence, he has some tricks and is a player with scope.
It is exceedingly rare for a player to be drafted after spending their entire childhood in the Northern Territory, as Smiler has, given the lack of pathway footy on offer. Only Gold Coast Academy pre-selection Joel Jeffrey and his former teammate Lloyd Johnston, selected as a Category B rookie, have done so since the turn of the decade.
Others such as Richmond forward Maurice Rioli and West Coast defender Sandy Brock have grown up in Darwin before moving away to pursue footy.
