Melbourne City's lineup for this game was one of the youngest I've ever seen, probably one of the youngest in NPL Victoria history. Four 2010s started while two 2011s came off the bench. This reflects Melbourne City's continued status as the club most willing to accelerate talented prospects into senior football nationally. For what it's worth, it took 2nd placed Hume City until the 87th minute to break the deadlock in a game that ended 1-0. 2011 is (I believe) the fourth consecutive age group where a Melbourne City player has debuted first nationally in NPL. Similar level talents at other clubs are generally waiting 1-2 years longer to debut in senior football, even if their NPL teams are playing in weaker NPL competitions. While Jayden Necovski (2008), Besian Kutleshi (2009) and Akeem Gerald (2010) debuted in senior football when Melbourne City were not in top-tier NPL, Yates and Calleja are debuting in what many people think is the best NPL competition in the country. Exposure to high-level men's football at 14-15 can only be beneficial for players. Kutleshi is a good example. After being introduced to NPL football at that age, by 17 he was able to start and stand out for Melbourne City in high pressure, A-League finals. Necovski was unlucky having torn his ACL 18 months ago, but at 18, he has been one of NPL Victoria's best centre-backs this season. Were it not for his ACL tear, I'm sure we would already have seen him impress in the A-League. As I said, similar level talents at other clubs are being made to wait until they are 16-17 to debut in senior NPL. I think this ultimately hampers their development. And if Melbourne City is able to field 2011s against Hume City while still remaining competitive, I see no reason why other clubs could not at least expose their best 2010s to senior football, particularly those clubs who play in considerably weaker NPL competitions.