Rachele, who was was co-captain of Victoria Country for the Gold Coast and Brisbane event, finished the tournament with three medals after putting together a magnificent performance.
As well as Country’s MVP award, Rachele also claimed the Kevin Sheehan Medal for best player in the championships and the Bartram Medal as Country’s best player — as voted by his fellow players.
‘‘It was unreal,’’ Rachele said.
‘‘The first game we played at Southport and then on the Friday we played at the Gabba.
‘‘After the tournament I thought I had played pretty well and I was pretty proud (of the medals), but I was actually pretty surprised. Vic Metro won the overall championship and I thought they would give it to one of them.’’
Across the two games in Queensland, Rachele compiled a massive 58 disposals and it seems a recent decision to focus all of his energy on the one sport has helped the rising star, who is also extremely talented with a round ball, blossom.
‘‘I’m fully committed to footy now, I haven’t played any soccer since around August/September,’’ Rachele said.
‘‘It’s my first crack at having a full year just playing one sport.
‘‘I was co-captain as well (for Country), it was one of the best weeks of my life.
‘‘The team bonded so well I think because we’re all country boys and got along really well, and we got better as the week went on.’’
Familiar faces Tom Brown (Mooroopna) and Ben Bath (Euroa) were also among Country’s side, with the former booting three goals from 16 possessions at the Gabba.
Rachele will focus on the next step in his football progression — attempting to crack into the Murray Bushrangers’ under-18 team.
‘‘I’ve been training with the under-18 Bushies every week, so hopefully I can try and get a game with them,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve just got to keep training hard and see how I go.’’
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