THE EDFL is going to be very well-represented in Saturday’s AFL Grand Final.
Both Adelaide and Richmond boast EDFL talent in their sides and each club will have former EDFL Juniors running out onto the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
It will be a particularly special day for the Greenvale Football Club, with both Daniel Talia (Adelaide) and Dion Prestia (Richmond) to play in their first AFL Grand Finals.
Talia, a two-time All-Australian and Rising Star winner, grew up playing for Greenvale before being drafted via the Calder Cannons to the Crows.
Prestia, also a former Cannon, played Under 16s football with Greenvale prior to being drafted to the Gold Coast Suns.
Meanwhile, Adelaide’s Rory Atkins grew up playing for Maribyrnong Park and also represented the EDFL at Interleague level back in 2009.
In 2011 he played four senior games for the Lions as a 17-year-old.
Another one is Brandon Ellis, who will be donning yellow and black on the big stage.
Ellis, also a former Cannon, was a star junior for West Coburg before catching the eye of Calder and then, Richmond.
Finally, Keilor has a representative with Kyle Hartigan named at full back for the Crows.
"To have so much EDFL junior talent running around the MCG on the game’s biggest stage is an outstanding achievement," EDFL CEO Marc Turri said.
"It speaks to the incredibly hard work put in by our clubs with their respective junior programs and the talent pathways on offer for every boy and girl running around on an EDFL ground each Sunday.
"They all obviously can’t win on Saturday, but we wish everyone all the best."
