Sport
15 August, 2022
Maryborough FNC’s youth sides show glimpse of future with season success
The message from the last couple of weeks is clear to see from the Maryborough Football Netball Club — the future is now. In the backdrop of what has been a tough season for the senior football and netball teams, a quick glance at the junior...
The message from the last couple of weeks is clear to see from the Maryborough Football Netball Club — the future is now.
In the backdrop of what has been a tough season for the senior football and netball teams, a quick glance at the junior ladders within the club shows reason for optimism through the ranks that the
Magpies can return to a status as an extremely competitive Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) club.
At netball level, the 17 and under side has already confirmed a spot in their finals series, finishing fourth on the ladder ahead of their first finals appearance in two weeks’ time when they play Golden Square.
From a football standpoint, there’s also plenty of reason to be optimistic, despite the senior team’s winless 2022 season with one round to go.
The under 16 boys have finished on top of the ladder in the under 16 boys second division ahead of junior finals starting this week, while the under 14s have finished second in the first division.
The under 12s have also qualified for finals, finishing fourth in their competition.
However, while each finals appearance should rightfully be celebrated, the most significant finals appearance of the 2022 season for Maryborough arguably belongs to the under 18s.
Having restarted their under 18 program in 2022 following a six-year absence, a 63-point victory over South Bendigo on the weekend has confirmed their place in the finals, and they’re set to line up against Strathfieldsaye on August 28 at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
Fittingly for the club, both their 17 and under netball team and under 18s will be playing their elimination finals at the same time, making it a big day at Bendigo in a fortnight’s time for the Maryborough faithful who will enjoy a great success story from the 2022 season.
For under 18 coach Brady Neill, it’s been a year of significant achievements by the team, leading up to their first finals appearance in the under 18 BFNL competition in well over a decade.
“It’s been a long time coming. There’s been milestones since we’ve built our team — firstly to get one in the competition, then to get our first win (in round two against Castlemaine) and now to get our finals appearance locked in is an incredible effort and it just shows the commitment from the 25 players we have had and their willingness to play with each other,” he said.
The appearance of the under 18s in the finals gives the Magpies a strengthened platform to build through the juniors, and with all three grades below them also playing in the finals, it gives the Magpies optimism of matching other BFNL teams with strong junior bases.
“We do envy other clubs, such as Strathfieldsaye and Sandhurst that have strong juniors who are able to play senior footy, and for us to have a good bunch of juniors who are starting to move into seniors shows that we have that platform and start to work towards a level alongside Strathfieldsaye and hopefully soon, be alongside them in a senior aspect,” Neill said.
Significantly for the team, Neill says every member of this year’s under 18 crop have signed on for 2023, as the Magpies look to build towards returning to the BFNL senior finals in the not-too-distant future.
“It’s fantastic. We’ve done a lot of work with our top-agers and they’ve signed on for next year, and the bottom-agers have all committed as well, so we are looking to continue this platform and keep Maryborough at a high standard for a long time hopefully,” he said.
“You often coach teams and you don’t enjoy it when it is tough each week, but this year our Tuesday and Thursday training sessions have been a thrill, and their platforms where they talk each week on social media displays good quality banter. It’s been a club where they just get around one another on a Saturday night after games as well. They’re a good bunch of blokes and I’m really
honoured to be leading them this year.
“It shows we have a really good platform with these young guys, and working with (senior coach) Rick Andrews as well, he’s really making sure they’re feeling welcome around the club.”
Importantly, the Magpies’ team on the weekend fielded seven players who have had exposure to senior football in 2022, often doubling up following their under 18 games on most weekends.
Lachie Bursill added his name to a glittering list of senior footballers in Maryborough history on Saturday afternoon, making his debut when called up following their victory over South Bendigo.
When asked to name standout players in the team, Neill had three players in mind.
“Our captain, Jai Howell, he came from East Point last year and he’s been an absolute standout for us at a club, standing out at junior level as well as playing nine senior games — I expect him to poll really well in the league best and fairest,” he said.
“Tom Myers, from St Arnaud, he’s come in and has handled the challenges of big league footy with us really well.
“Lucas Hurse is a junior who’s come through the ranks from the area in Carisbrook, and he was named as a rising star nominee by the Bendigo Football Netball League recently as well.”
While Maryborough has one game left of the home and away season, a game against second-bottom team Kyneton on Saturday afternoon, it’s hard not to get excited about the prospect of their encounter against the Storm the following week, especially after such a long absence from finals football at under 18 level.
The Magpies have been unsuccessful on both occasions against the Storm in 2022, but as Neill rightfully points out, they were also competitive on both occasions, leading for large parts of the first half of their round six clash at Tannery Lane before fading to a 47-point loss, while in their round 15 encounter at Princes Park, the Magpies were also competitive in a 25-point defeat, with the Storm eventually shaking off them off in the final quarter.
“Strathfieldsaye have beaten us in both encounters this year, but we’ve matched them for long periods of both games, and we think we have a lot of attributes that can really challenge them and we have a lot of confidence going to Queen Elizabeth Oval in two weeks’ time,” he said.
With a bright future at both football and netball level, it’s hard not to get excited at the prospect of Maryborough potentially becoming finals contenders in the near future in both sports. Now, it’s all about leveraging the amount of talent the club has.
