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The NAB League, launched on Friday, has expanded to include Tasmania Devils.
Four AFL club academies - Sydney, Gold Coast, GWS Giants and Brisbane - along with Northern Territory will join for a series within the under-18 representative season.
Greater Western Victoria Rebels talent manager Phil Partington said the new-look competition would have a strong emphasis on social media platforms.
Partington said a new APP, to be unveiled in mid-March, would give supporters greater access to their clubs' Rebels players.
"It will give a lot of people in country areas a chance to actually view the players a lot more through live streaming, live scores, live stats," he said.
"If you're watching the footy at Koroit and you can just jump on the APP and watch the Rebels play as well and watch your (club's) player and see how he's going by his stats.
"I think the digital platforms of today's life are getting bigger and bigger and we want access straight away to information.
"The engagement from the general public coming towards the draft, which is a big event for the AFL now, means people are going to know a lot more about these underage players, both male and female."
The Rebels' boys team will host Tasmania at Ballarat's Mars Stadium and play Northern Territory at Windy Hill.
"The Rebels are travelling up to play the Gold Coast Suns in Brisbane which is a fantastic opportunity for our players to travel like an AFL team and experience interstate travel before they hopefully get drafted to the AFL," Partington said.
The female competition will kick-start the NAB League on Saturday with the male season scheduled for March 23.
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Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
