United Youth League Boys ready to take next step

GEELONG United’s Youth League Boys side are ready to take the next step in their 2026 Big V campaign as they enter their second season in the Championship division.

After an 11th-place finish in the top division in 2025, United started their season last weekend in a double-header which resulted in one win and one loss.

They narrowly went down to last year’s grand finalists Frankston by four points at home, before traveling to Nunawading to overcome the Spectres by nine points.

Head coach Luke Beard said his group learned valuable lessons from their maiden run in the Championship division that they would use to move further up the ladder in 2026.

“The biggest lesson was definitely around consistency,” he said.

“We played really good basketball, but if we’re not bringing 40 minutes of really good basketball then we’re not going to get the result.

“The improvement is going to come through our physicality and our defence.”

As players such as Kuol Reech and Jackson Talbot age out of Youth League eligibility, Beard said this season’s roster brought a strong mix of experience and youth.

“We’ve got guys coming back that are going to be pushing for NBL1, [like] Ryan Drinkwater, Josh Norling and Bailey Bruce.

“But then you’ve got generation next with Malik Davis, Keegan Johnson, Phil Wickham, who are really going to step up.

“You’ve got old heads like Jay Posterino, we got Max Zalakos back from Bellarine – we’re going to bat really deep, that’s going to be one of our strengths.

“I’m really excited to see the team come together and all those different aspects of skill be put on the floor and result in some really consistent play.”

Beard was hopeful United could make a genuine finals push in 2026 while developing the squad to eventually move into NBL1 contention.

“Youth League exists to develop the player, it’s a real transition pathway between junior and senior basketball, that’s not lost on us.

“It doesn’t mean that we can’t be successful in that pursuit while developing players, and I think what we’ve done well is build a culture of expectation and hard work.

“The logical next step for us is to push for a finals berth and then from there see what we can do.”

United will take on Eltham tomorrow (Saturday 21 March) at the Geelong Arena. The match will tip off at 7pm.