Talented Hampden league duo named for Rebels debut on important occasion

Warrnambool's Riley Holloway and Portland's Chad Finck will pull on the Rebels' boys jumper for the first time with a boys and girls double-header clash against the Bendigo Pioneers at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.

Holloway, a member of Warrnambool's under 18 premiership team in 2023, has appeared in two senior games at Hampden league level while Finck, an emerging tall, is playing under 18s at the Tigers this season.

The double-header will also be about raising awareness for the White Ribbon Foundation.

"Its an important day for our program, we have been trying to think of a way to help support the Ballarat and surrounding communities in particular with the events over the last couple of months," Rebels talent lead Brooke Brown said.

"We really wanted to stand in solidarity with the Ballarat and also Australian communities and take a stand against violence against not just women but anyone.

"We have some amazing young men and women in our program that we believe can take what they are learning off the field back to their local communities and be leaders amongst their peers.

"It's a really important day both on and off the field. It's important that we can advocate for those that may not be able to."

It comes off the back of the AFL industry coming together as a collective voice across all games this weekend to stand against the national crisis of gender-based violence in Australia.

Both the girls and boys program will be looking for their first win of the season.

"We have been decimated by injuries this season across both programs. It's just one of those years, if I am honest," Brown said.

"We seem to just blink and there happens to be another injury. The break in the boys' program will hopefully allow some of our players to get their bodies right in readiness for what is going to be a busy month of football.

"We will continue to develop our younger players and have been encouraged by both the boys and girls really gritting their teeth to develop their skills and understanding both at training and in games."