Farerr League Under 17s coach, Craig De Piazza, believes exposure to senior football for many of his players will stand them in good stead for Saturday's game against Hume League Under 17s.
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De Piazza said they're expecting tough competition at Osborne but he's looking to their midfielders to lead the way.
"I know the Hume League is a really strong competition and they've got a lot more teams to choose from but I'm happy with the quality we've got this year," De Piazza said.
"I think probably the most exciting thing is that half the side at the moment are playing senior footy and the guys that aren't are really close to playing seniors. So there's definitely talent there."
Marrar's GWS Academy player, Drew Beavan, is an exciting prospect while fellow midfielder Keigan King has come into his own as a senior footballer at East Wagga-Kooringal and Nahom Fitzgerald-Holmes has been getting his chance at North Wagga.
Northern Jets' Mitch Doyle has had a key defensive role in first grade but will get the ruck duties for the rep team following the elevation of Jack Cullen and Jack Driscoll to the senior team.
De Piazza is also pleased with their forward set-up.
"Our key forward's Archie Howard who's been playing some solid first grade and we've also got Luke Fellow (who made his senior debut for The Rock-Yerong Creek recently) and Kolby McMahon (EWK) up forward.
"They've been playing some good footy so I'm pretty happy with our forward line."
McMahon kicked 10 goals in two games to start the year for the Hawks' 17s and has also impressed in reserve grade.
In the backline, Seth Vennell (TRYC) played most of last year in the top grade while Hayden Nelson (EWK) and Blake Walker (Marrar) have been given a chance this year.
But, like the senior side, there's work to be done for the Farrer League after a Riverina League thrashing last year.
"We got fairly unlucky last year with how many guys were unavailable," De Piazza said.
"I don't think it was a great reflection of how we are going as a league."
He said his approach will be to keep things simple.
"I don't really want to over-coach them. There's plenty of talent there and I just want them to display that talent and do the team thing. It's all about team footy."
The Under 17 game at Osborne begins at 12.30pm.
