Emmanuel College to host Maribyrnong College at the Reid Oval next Wednesday

The college - which will be led once again by multiple Koroit premiership coach Chris McLaren - is set to field a strong team.

Emmanuel has confirmed former Adelaide and Hawthorn utility Ricky Henderson - who is playing his footy with Hampden league outfit South Warrnambool - will help out as assistant coach alongside Ben Woonton in a big boost.

McLaren said numbers were strong with over 40 youngsters putting their hand up to play and expected a tough competition.

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"We've got heaps of numbers, some who are playing senior footy, or in the Rebels squad which is great," he said.

"We don't play the same schools as last year, so it'll be more Melbourne teams this year for whatever reason.

"You get a couple of home games, and it is a short program so we just got the boys in for a training session after school last week, and obviously they're all doing multiple sessions every week with club and Rebels training so we don't need to do much.

"We'll let them go a fair bit, we'll let them play to their strengths a bit and let them have a bit of fun."

Emmanuel will play Rowville Secondary College as a home game in round two a few weeks later, before heading to Melbourne to take on Box Hill Secondary College to conclude the season.

Semi-finals and the grand final will take place in June with the decider to be played at the iconic Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

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