Eight Victorians find AFL homes in SSP

The AFL’s 2024 Supplementary Selection Period (SSP) concluded on Monday, with 10 players added to AFL club lists ahead of the season.

Included in that list are eight players with ties to Victorian community clubs, with four making their way onto an AFL list for the first time.

Click here for a full wrap of the SSP and the players selected.

Mykelti Lefau (St Kilda City Football Club) completed a remarkable journey to the AFL when he was signed by Richmond, having moved to Australia from New Zealand in 2012 to trial with the NRL’s Melbourne Storm. Since then, the 23-year-old spent time with St Kilda City, even kicking 25 goals in a junior game for the Saints, before stints with Casey and Richmond in the VFL.

Tyler Sellers (Ashburton Redbacks Junior Football Club / Old Scotch Football Club) sealed his SSP call-up after booting three goals in North Melbourne’s intraclub game last week, which followed a VFL season where the 20-year-old finished second in the Roos’ best and fairest. Prior to that, Sellers played with Old Scotch in the VAFA, where he won the club’s best and fairest in his first season.

Ethan Phillips (East Malvern Knights Junior Football Club / St Kevins Old Boys Football Club) has already signed to play with Hawthorn’s VFL affiliate Box Hill in 2024 after two impressive years with Port Melbourne, but he instead will join the Hawks’ senior list this year. He won the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal in 2022 as the VFL’s best young talent, and his SSP signing means that the past 17 winners of the award have gone on to be in the AFL system.

Footscray star Lachie Sullivan (East Malvern Knights Junior Football Club / St Kevins Old Boys Football Club) will finally get his shot with Collingwood after dominating the VFL, winning the league’s Coaches MVP Award with Footscray in 2023. The 26-year-old had been overlooked in multiple drafts, but an impressive season that saw him finish third in the J.J. Liston Trophy was enough to convince the Magpies.

Jack Bytel (Aberfeldie Sports Club) also joins Collingwood after playing 22 games across five years with St Kilda, bouncing back from a tough run of injuries to earn a second chance at the top level. The 23-year-old had some impressive moments with the Saints, collecting a career-high 21 disposals, eight tackles and seven clearances against Hawthorn in 2021.

Josh Eyre (Kilmore Junior Football Club) spent last season with the Magpies’ VFL side after being delisted by Essendon, and he too has been rewarded with a spot on their senior list. Even a hamstring injury that will delay the start of his season wasn’t enough to deter Collingwood, with nine games in defence for their VFL team last season enough to impress.

It’s back to the future for Marty Hore (Leitchville Gunbower Bombers Football Club), who will enjoy a second stint with Melbourne after a two-year absence spent in the VFL. The 27-year-old played 14 games in his debut season for the Demons before a knee injury ruled him out for the entirety of 2021. He bounced back with back-to-back VFL Team of the Year selections in in 2022-23, and now re-joins his former side at the top level.

Former Hawthorn defender Lachlan Bramble (Sunbury Lions Football Netball Club) heads to the Western Bulldogs after playing 11 games for the Hawks last season. He was a strong contributor for Box Hill in the VFL last season, averaging 24.5 disposals across 13 games, and that was enough for the Bulldogs to pounce early in the SSP.

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