‘It’s just great to have it back’: Wells names GVL under-18s squad

Jason Wells will be at the helm of the youth outfit, as the two traditional rivals get set to butt heads at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.

“Credit to the young men, they’ve been fantastic over the past two weeks, they’ve all trained really strongly and we’re looking forward to Saturday,” Wells said post training on Wednesday night.

“It’s just great to have it back (Interleague football).

“Especially against O&M, the rivalry is there, it’s something you try to teach the young kids as well, being known as the best country footballers. That’s something we’ve been lucky enough to do at junior level over the past 10 years so we’re definitely looking forward to the opportunity.”

Wells is no stranger to representative coaching.

The former Shepparton under-18s premiership coach has been at the helm of the the GVL under-18s outfit for more than a decade.

“I love it. I love being involved with the kids, I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with the Bushrangers program at the minute,” Wells said.

“To bring some of that back to here and to help our Goulburn Valley juniors grow, hopefully I can pass on some sort of knowledge.

The squad is stacked with classy teenagers.

Shepparton United leads the way with five representatives, while Shepparton and Shepparton Swans both had four each.

With the likes of GVL senior football regulars, Oscar Ryan, Liam Serra, Diesel Batey and Jed Warrin, it’s a strong outfit that Wells has assembled.

The captaincy was still up for grabs on Wednesday night, following the decision from Echuca young gun Cooper Willoughby to sit out the match due to injury.

“It was hard. To put your hand up and say ‘I’m not right’, you have got to give him credit where credit’s due,” Wells said.

“It’s disappointing for him to miss out because he is 19 and so he’s missed playing representative footy.”

Wells said the selection process was challenging due to the talent on display.

“We never get it right. It’s always tough to tell 12-14 kids that they have missed out on a opportunity. Hopefully they go away and do prove you wrong.”