TALENTED Bendigo Pioneers duo Thomas Cole and Aidyn Johnson have been selected in the AFL Academy.
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Their selection means they are now eligible to be picked in the 2015 AFL draft.
Cole, from Sandhurst, and Johnson, from Echuca will join a group of 31 hopefuls in the academy.
Eleven of the players have come from country Victoria including players from Geelong, Dandenong and Gippsland.
This year, both Cole and Johnson received call-ups to represent country Victoria at the national under-18 championships.
Cole, a defender, has also played 13 games with the Pioneers this season, and has been named in the best on 10 occasions.
He was a part of Sandhurst's senior side who defeated Gisborne by 69 points at the weekend.
Johnson has played seven games for the TAC Cup side.
The half forward's best game for the season was against the Geelong Falcons, where he booted four goals.
As part of the AFL Academy, Cole and Johnson will travel to America in January for a high performance camp.
The pair will also get to spend two weeks working with an AFL club to help fast track their development.
Four more footy young guns will also be added to the AFL academy squad later this year.
Selectors are set to chose their final players from those who perform well in the back end of the season.