Bendigo Pioneers quartet to play in national under-18 carnival

Echuca's Noah Long, Tongala's Harley Reid, Kyabram's Charlie Barnett and Leitchville-Gunbower's Jed Brereton were selected in the final squad of 28 players to take on the best young talent in Australia.

"For Noah Long to come back from a horrific 12 months of injury is a credit to him,'' O'Bree said.

"He injured his knee last year and then round one this year he smashed up his collarbone and had to have surgery.

"He's barely played any footy, so for him to make this squad is awesome.

"Harley Reid speaks for himself, really. He's incredibly impressive in the way he goes about his footy.

"Jed Brereton is another player who has had to overcome injury after injury and it's awesome to see him in the squad.

"Charlie Barnett was probably not at the fitness levels required for NAB League level last year, but he's worked incredibly hard and the way he prepares himself now is first-class. He deserves this opportunity."

Victoria Metro and Victoria Country will start their campaigns next weekend, with Metro travelling to Blacktown International Sports Park to play the Allies on June 25, while Country takes on South Australia at Thebarton Oval on June 26.

The two Victorian sides will each play three matches throughout June and July, before concluding the Championships with a Victoria Metro v Victoria Country showdown in September.

Meanwhile, the Pioneers return to NAB League action on Sunday with a home game against the Murray Bushrangers in Mildura.

"We have 23 players unavailable this week,'' O'Bree said.

"We're playing our Mildura-based kids, which is fantastic, and they've been in really good form in club footy.

"It's a great opportunity for some of our younger players to get a taste of NAB League footy."

The Pioneers are 12th on the ladder with one win, one draw and five losses, while the Bushrangers are sixth with four wins and three losses.

Sunday's game starts at 11.30am.

Bendigo Pioneers' team to play the Murray Bushrangers:

B: T. Poyser, N. Dignan, T. Stevens. Hb: R. Murphy, J. Nihill, H. Reid. C: O. Poole, B. Stevens, J. Goss. HF: J. Mezzaresta, E. Pearce, C. Hillier. F: S. Mckay, M. Gordon, S. O'Shannessy. R: J. Worme, P. Kuma, P. Kelly. Inter: J. Grace, O. Smartt, B. Cain, L. Wright, B. Meade. Emerg: J. Denahy, C. Anderson, W. Burke.

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