The 2025 season has proven to be a strong year for the GIANTS Boys Academy, with standout performances across national championships, exciting individual growth, and players gaining national recognition with Allies and All-Australian selection.

Five Academy Players Represent The Allies

Five GIANTS Academy boys recently represented the Allies in the 2025 National Championships: Riley Hamilton, Tallis McMillan, Ethan Matthews, Brody Kane, and Jim Houston — a strong reflection of the Academy’s talent production.

“These lads did a terrific job through our Academy Series and Coates Talent League programs to be selected in the Allies,” GIANTS Head of Academies Jason Saddington said.

“Riley Hamilton was certainly the standout, performing strongly in all games at the Nationals, whilst it was great for Jim, Brody, and Tallis to gain some exposure. Ethan Matthews, as a bottom ager player who hits his draft age in 2026, showed enormous potential and is one to watch next year.”

Saddington said the exposure from these matches had shown that the cohort had strong qualities to suggest impressive futures.

“Riley, Tallis and Jim are in line for an invitation to the State Combine in October which indicates there is some interest from a number of AFL clubs,” he said.

“Riley and Ethan have also displayed good form and positive signs in their appearances with the GIANTS VFL team throughout the back end of the season to highlight they can certainly play at a high level.

“While we are hopeful Ethan will get an opportunity to play in the National Academy Futures game (U17) at the MCG on grand final day.”

Under-16 Nationals: A Crucial Testing Ground 

Meanwhile the GIANTS U16 Academy squad gained important experience at their National Championships — beating the Northern Territory but falling to both the Swans and Tasmania.

“It was great exposure for all of our players at the U16 Nationals to be tested against their peers from around the country,” Saddington said.

“More importantly, the time our coaches and players get to spend with each other and connect enhances the development of our players through the Nationals campaign. It’s also a great stepping stone into their draft years.”

Among the standout performers was Cooper French, a small forward from the ACT who was not only named the GIANTS MVP of the carnival but was recently named to the under 16 All Australian side.

“It’s fantastic to see Cooper rewarded with All-Australian selection after a really impressive campaign,” Saddington said.

“Cooper was consistently influential with his clean and clever ball use in the front half of the field.

“He found a lot of the footy and was a great connector between the mids and deeper forwards and really utilised his strong footy knowledge to great effect.”

Saddington was quick to point out several of French’s teammates who also had fantastic under 16 carnivals.

“Another clever small forward in Brynley Ryan showed his class with his agility and foot skills and if for straighter kicking for goal could have had a standout carnival with scoreboard impact.

“Both Luke Bechaz and Boston Macri were terrific key defensive pillars, and both showed a great ability to outmark their opposing forwards - highlighting a bright future for the pair.

“At 204cm, Baden Smith [the younger brother of GIANTS draftee Logan Smith] showed he has some great tools with his ability to ruck, follow up, and get around the ground to show extreme promise.

“Aiden Henderson showed he has a strong future with his ability to win the footy and provide run and skill off half back, while Franklin Murray-Wright showed great potential in round one as an athletic, skilled defender prior to receiving a head knock which ruled him out of rounds two and three through concussion protocols.”

U15 All-Australian Honours

The Academy’s national footprint was further established with two other youngsters earning All-Australian selection alongside Cooper French.

“The future is bright with our U15 boys program off the back of some outstanding performances from Academy players representing both NSW and ACT at the recent U15 National All-Schools carnival,” Saddington said.

“This was highlighted by the All-Australian selection of both Noah Golds from Western Sydney (representing NSW) and James Rice from Canberra (representing ACT).”

What’s Next For The Academy Boys?

A select group of 17s boys will represent NSW/ACT in a match v Vic Metro this Saturday, August 9 in Melbourne, including Ethan Matthews, Charlie Harper, and Tom Wichman as players to watch.

For all Academy players, community footy finals are next on the calendar before a well-earned break, with pre-season training with the Academy kicking off in early November.

Looking Ahead

Regional Champs for U12-U15 boys is still to come in Canberra on September 13 and 14, and Super 24 Series for U13-U15 (boys and girls) in Coffs Harbour from October 7–9.

The 2025 season has once again reinforced the GIANTS Academy’s role as a vital pathway for emerging talent in NSW and the ACT — with national honours, consistent development, and exciting future prospects for many of its young stars.