After a raft of accolades with the under-16 side in 2024, Cody Walker will join Victoria Country as a bottom-ager for the 2025 under-18 National Championships.
Victoria Country has announced its squad for its first game of the 2025 under-18 boys National Championships and a couple of local names have made the cut.
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Having been made captain of the All-Australian team in the under-16 National Championships last year, it’s no surprise to see Echuca’s Cody Walker join the under-18 setup in 2025, even as a bottom age prospect.
Walker averaged 28 disposals (13 contested), three marks and seven clearances in the under-16 competition, also named Vic Country’s MVP for the tournament.
The son of 202-game Carlton player Andrew Walker, Cody is one of three father-son prospects in the squad, along with Harry Dean (son of Peter), and Mitchell Stevens (son of Mark).
The father-son rule guarantees Carlton Walker’s draft rights, should it want them, when the time comes, and given the Echuca junior’s trajectory so far, it seems likely the Blues will want to exercise that option.
The National Championships is one of the key annual showcases for AFL draft prospects, but as a bottom-ager, Walker won’t be eligible to declare for the draft until 2026.
Twenty-seven players were named in the Vic Country squad, only three of them bottom-age players.
Walker has played six games for the Bendigo Pioneers in the Coates Talent League this season, kicking four goals and joining the best players list three times.
He has also suited up twice in the Goulburn Valley League with Echuca.
Also in the Vic Country squad is recent Rochester Tigers recruit Harry Moon.
Formerly playing with Numurkah in the Murray League, Moon joined Rochester for 2025, but has only donned the yellow-and-black once in the thirds, spending the rest of his time with the Talent League’s Murray Bushrangers.
2025 Rochester recruit Harry Moon was selected for the National Championships.
Moon has made five appearances for the Bushrangers in 2025, one of the side’s best on two occasions.
Vic Country starts its campaign at Mineral Resources Park in Perth on Saturday, June 7, taking on WA.
The side has further games scheduled through June and into July, slated for matches with South Australia and Allies, and concludes its campaign against Vic Metro on Sunday, July 20.
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