The Bendigo Pioneers will unveil nine first-game players in Sunday's Coates Talent League Boys season-opener against the Greater Western Victoria Rebels at Learmonth.
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Koben Ryan (Lake Boga), Glenn Gillbee (Balranald), Charlie Cook (South Mildura), Jonty Davis (Marong), Jye Chambers (Kyneton), Archie Watt (Kyabram), Nash Ramage (Echuca United), Hunter Wright (Golden Square) and Nick Thompson (Charlton) will pull on the Pioneers' under-18 jumper for the first time.
"There's optimism and excitement around the group,'' Pioneers' coach Danny O'Bree said in relation to the influx of fresh talent.
"Our region is widespread and a couple of the first-gamers are not from major leagues, which is exciting for our program.
"We're really keen to see what they can bring."
Two of the rookies - Thompson and Watt - have the potential to make a big impact.
"Nick Thompson from Charlton has been someone we wanted in the program for a little while and he's going really well,'' O'Bree said.
"He's an exciting type and played as a tall forward locally, but I think he's so versatile and his strengths are ridiculously good that he's suited to so many positions.
"Archie Watt is one of our top prospects. The Goulburn Valley community would have seen him in the grand final for Kyabram last year as a significant contributor.
"He's down at a private school (Melbourne), so they wouldn't have seen him a lot, but we've got a very high opinion of him."
The Pioneers face a tough examination in round one, with the Rebels expected to be a top-four team in 2024.
"The Rebels will be very strong and this will be a significant challenge even though they have three of their best players missing on Sunday,'' O'Bree said.
"We've had a really solid preparation. The boys are in good order and I'm sure we'll put in a good display."
O'Bree said he wants his group to play with freedom.
"Every Talent League region needs to get their players noticed (by AFL clubs),'' he said.
"Every club plays similarly in terms of tactics and structure, so we hone in on craft and skill development under pressure.
"We're trying to allow the players to play on instinct. If there's too many instructions for players trying to their best to standout... things can get out of hand pretty quickly.
"We want to be excitement with our ball movement, but staunch in the way we defend and react quickly. That's what recruiters want to see."
