KY McGrath knows this weekend is a little more important than others and the 17-year-old wants to put his best foot forward ahead of the next AFL draft.
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McGrath, a Muswellbrook native now based in Sydney who used to play in the Black Diamond league for the Cats and Warners Bay, will be part of a 50-man Allies squad travelling to Melbourne on Thursday.
The Allies, made up of players from NSW, ACT, Queensland, Tasmania and Northern Territory, have a training camp before splitting in half for matches against Victoria metropolitan and country.
One combined team will then be picked to compete in the opening five rounds of the AFL Under-18 Championships from June 9.
Selectors will keep an eye on proceedings for the 2019 draft.
"It's a major opportunity and it should be a really good experience," McGrath said.
"You want to have a good game this weekend because they use it to help with points for the [AFL draft] ranking system."
McGrath has featured in a couple of NEAFL matches for the Sydney Swans this season and otherwise lines up with the Manly Wolves.
He joined the Swans for last year's NEAFL decider almost straight after playing with Warners Bay in the AFL Hunter Central Coast preliminary final.
Meanwhile, his former club, the Muswellbrook Cats, tackles Lake Macquarie at Tulkaba Park on Saturday in both the 2019 Haval Black Diamond Plate and women's fixtures.
