The AIS AFL Academy will warm up for their Euroepean tour with a match against Peter Jackson VFL side Box Hill Hawks at the MCG tonight.
Box Hill Hawks coach Damian Carroll said the game would be a good opportunity for the younger players on the list, with the majority of the team coming from their Development side.
"This game will be a great experience for our younger players. The squad will be predominately an U20 team with some Hawthorn listed players (1st & 2nd year) players making up the squad of 28," Carroll said.
"The boys are really excited about the opportunity. Sam Cust, Tim Northe, Jayden Cass, Ben Monkhorst, Tom Gordon, Luke Andrews and Josh Ralph are some of players who have had senior VFL experience and involved in this match."
The match will be the curtain raiser for the Richmond-Carlton clash in round one and marks the official start of the 2012 NAB AFL Under-18 program, which incorporates the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
It follows last year's successful experiment that saw the Australian Under-18 team, comprised of AIS-AFL Academy squad members, defeat Geelong's VFL team by just one point at the MCG.
"This year our national under-18 program starts off with the very best - the Australian Under-18 team - taking on Box Hill in the AFL Invitational Challenge," AFL national talent manager Kevin Sheehan told afl.com.au.
"It gives the Hawks an excellent hit-out at the 'G and it gives our under-18 boys a genuine feel for the standard required to win a spot on an AFL list, which is obviously the aspiration of all 30 players."
Box Hill Hawks have the bye in round two of the Peter Jackson VFL season, after opening the season against Sandringham in round one.
Follow @VFLnews on twitter for score updates from this match.
Last Modified on 29/03/2012 16:28