NYAH-Nyah West United product Max Thompson has continued to take his game to new heights, with the 16-year-old representing Victoria Country at the Under 16 Boys AFL National Championships in recent weeks.
It was an extraordinary tournament from the premiership Demon, who was also named Vic Country’s most valuable player following his 10-goal haul in the three game tournament.
It wasn’t just the Vic Country coaching staff that Thompson caught the eye of however, with AFL recruiters and many AFL media identities also touting Thompson as one of the players to watch over the coming seasons.
It was a tournament to remember for our region’s latest prodigal talent, with Thompson starting the championships with a five-goal haul against Vic Metro in early June, before booting two and three goals against South Australia and Western Australia when the tournament moved up to the Gold Coast over the July school holidays.
Thompson was named among Vic Country’s better players in all three matches and his 10-goal haul was the most of any player in the premier Pool A competition.
“I started really well after kicking five against (Vic) Metro and it kind of just snowballed from there,” Thompson told The Guardian this week.
“We then went up to the Gold Coast and we didn’t win a game, which was unfortunate, but I was pretty happy with how I went, I suppose.
“To average better than three goals a game is pretty good as a small forward, especially up there on the Gold Coast where it was so hot and humid.
“It felt like you were running up and down the ground for not much, but it was pretty good still, it was easier to win a bit cleaner ball which was good.”
It has been a remarkable season for the Year 11 student, who now resides in Bendigo, having also made his under 18s Coates Talent League debut for the Bendigo Pioneers in front of a home crowd at the Swan Hill Rec Reserve in May.
Thompson sealed victory for the Pioneers that afternoon with the match winning goal against the GWV Rebels and followed up with a goal in his second match against the Geelong Falcons a month later.
He has been a key player for NNW United in four senior matches this season, which in itself has been a remarkable effort considering an interrupted pre-season with a stress related hamstring injury forcing him to spend months on the sidelines.
“Being injured during the pre-season kind of knocked me around a little bit to be honest, but it’s all kind of worked out so far by the looks of it,” Thompson said.
“I feel like I’ve gotten myself back on an even keel with everyone else now from a fitness perspective, but I had to put in a lot of work to get myself into this position.
“In terms of what’s next, I’ll go back to the Pioneers as soon as I’m fit and I’ll finish off the year there, and then hopefully end the year back home (at NNW United).
“We’re (NNW United) going alright, so hopefully when I get back we’re still in it and I can try and help the boys win again.
“I love coming back and playing at home and it would be a dream to go on another run like last year and go back-to-back.”
Thompson will first have to overcome a nagging ankle complaint that he picked up in the first quarter of Vic Country’s loss to Western Australia, with the small forward set to rest this weekend following the gruelling campaign.
Although the 16-year old isn’t eligible to be drafted into the AFL until the end of the 2027 season, he is already looking ahead, with the speed of the game and a potential change of role in the coming years likely to give him his best chance at emulating fellow NNW United and now AFL star Brent Daniels.
“It’s obviously a lot quicker and there’s a lot bigger bodies in the Talent League than what I’m used to,” Thompson said.
“I found that at the nationals, even in the under 16s, it was a lot quicker than in the under 18s Pioneers games.
“I think I underestimated how quick the nationals were going to be, but the quicker the footy the better for me too.
“The way it’s gone, I’m probably looking at just perfecting my forward craft at this point, I still have the experience to go into the midfield and work through that, but I’ll probably play there in the coming years at the Pio’s and then I can always lean back on the forward craft, but the midfield is where everyone wants to be.
“Obviously height is not going to help me very much, but ‘Breezer’ (Pioneers coach Danny O’Bree) has been talking to me a bit and he’s probably looking at me playing that small forward, high half forward role and having that ability to roll into the midfield.”
While Thompson’s 2025 season is far from over, with three Bendigo Pioneers matches still to come, along with a potential finals campaign for the Demons, the highly talented forward is “all in” when it comes to realising his dream of reaching the AFL.
“I just have to keep working as hard as I can until my under 18s year,” Thompson said.
“I’m done for this season pretty much in terms of representative footy, but hopefully I can make the Vic Country squad for the under 18s next year and play in the young guns game with all the best 17-year olds.
“I think there was 10 bottom age players in the Vic Country squad this year and I reckon maybe five or six of them played.
“Hopefully winning the MVP gives me the chance to at least train with the squad ahead of the carnival next year, which would be great in itself to get to that point.”
