A double-header at CE Brown Reserve will kick off the NAB League Boys season for the Rebels

The side will host its country rivals at CE Brown Reserve, Lake Wendouree from 5pm, the curtain raiser to the under-17s game at 7:30pm.

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Returning head coach David Loader said it's great to have the regions best boys talent and the finest players from Geelong all in one place showcasing their skills.

"It's going to be awesome to have a look at our boys and see where they're at for a start, that's going to be great," he said.

"We're super lucky to be getting it (the game) in Ballarat, so we're really excited."

The side will have 12 games to showcase their talents to recruiters according to the fixture released by the AFL, which is subject to change in line with COVID-19 protocols.

Loader said his group is just looking forward to playing footy once again after the lay-off in season 2020.

"I think everyone's generally just super happy to be back playing. The kids are that excited, they just haven't played footy for 18 months some of these kids, so they're just that excited to be playing," he said.

Loader said the group needs to think team first to maximise their impact on the ground.

"The biggest thing for them is to identify what their strengths are and to play to those strengths, but to be able to play a role within a team. That's massively important," he said.

"In the past kids because they're just better they play automatically in a team, but now they're going into a team where everyone is better, you've got to learn to play a role and just go 'yep I can be that small kicking defender or I can be that outside mid."

"That doesn't mean that people can only play role but they've got to find one predominant role that they're really good at."

26 players from the 2020 squad have been picked again however, all enter the season without playing a NAB League game due to COVID-19.

From a coaching point of view, Loader returns to the Rebels after four years as a development coach with North Melbourne.

He previously coached the Rebels boys side from 2011 to 2015, winning the TAC Cup coach of the year in 2014 and 2015.

He said he's enjoyed being back coaching the best girls and boys talent in the region.

"Just great to be back working with the talented kids again that are aspiring to get to the highest level of footy, to work with all those driven young athletes is pretty exciting."

The GWV Rebels under-17 boys side are set to play two games, kicking off against the Geelong Falcons at CE Brown Reserve, Lake Wendouree on Thursday at 7:30pm.

The squad disassembles after the second game and players return to their home clubs.

A handful of players will picked to be added to the under-19's list and will be available for selection for the remainder of the NAB League Boys season.

Squad coach David Loader said he hopes the squad can transfer what they've learnt at training into a game and play at a high level.

"Hopefully that the pre-season training stuff that they've been doing that they can put into practice and show that they can play with some sort of method," he said.

"Just that they get out and they play and they show everyone how good they are as individual athletes."

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