The Bushrangers defeated the GWS Giants Academy side by 70 points on Saturday afternoon at Martin Park in Wodonga.
The Bushies were led in attack by Shepparton gun swingman Matt Whitlock, who booted 5.3 from his 14 disposals as well as taking seven marks; his side built its lead consistently throughout the match to win the game 18.11 (119) to 7.7 (49).
Whitlock was swung forward with great effect after impressing as a defender during the opening few rounds of the season.
Murray Bushrangers under-19 boys coach Mark Brown said Whitlock continued to demonstrate his versatility as both a key forward and defender.
“To kick five goals in your first game forward is fantastic,” Brown said.
“(The move) was around a bit of necessity as Jack (Whitlock) was out injured and Josh Murphy is out suspended and they are our two key forwards, so we saw it as an opportunity to swing Matt forward.
“He (Matt) has been exceptionally good as a key back this year, and we just thought that here is an opportunity for us to expose his forward craft.
“He has played plenty of time forward as a junior and you could see that as he got to the right positions and the longer he spent forward, the better he looked as he caught the ball quite well and he kicked 5.3, so he could have had an even bigger day.”
Whitlock’s twin brother Jack missed the match with a finger injury, but Brown was quick to assure that he would be back and ready to go for the national carnival in June.
Another Bushranger who impressed during the win against the Giants was Euroa young gun Cohen Paul, who produced his best performance of the season.
Paul collected 27 touches, seven marks, six tackles, six inside-50s and one goal, with Brown saying the 17-year-old’s ability as an inside midfielder was clearly on show during the match.
“He (Paul) played solely ‘inside mid’, and for us, it is just a balancing act, as there are probably more opportunities at Vic Country level as a wing, so that is why we played him as a wing early (in the season) and he certainly did enough in the first three games to suggest he can do that at a national level if he gets the opportunity.
“We threw him (into a) inside mid (role) on the weekend and he looked at home there as he found plenty of the football; he was strong over the ball and he used it quite well.
“If you’re talking solely what is best for our side, it’s probably to play him as an inside mid, but what’s best for Cohen Paul and his development, it might be more wing and playing more outside.
“I thought the balance in our (midfield) game was really impressive as we were strong in the contest, as Darby Wilson adds to that, Max Mahoney adds to that, and they were good with Cohen Paul.”
The usual suspects stood tall for the Bushrangers over the weekend, but Brown was also able to blood some new talent as four players made their Coates Talent League debuts.
Ryan Ash (Shepparton) and Ned Byrne (Shepparton) both made the most of their opportunities, with Byrne even featuring among the best players for the Bushrangers, according to Brown.
“As our league is structured, the first three games of the year is an opportunity to play our private school boys; it’s the only chance we get to play them early in the season,” he said.
“As a result, we play the private school boys first because we want to see where they are at and get a bit of a gauge and that sometimes holds a couple of players back and Ned Byrne probably falls into that category.
“He has come in as an over-age prospect as he is born late December.
“He is a fantastic athlete, highly coachable and really good in the contest; his ability to seek out and execute tackle pressure is fantastic, and it was a good debut for him.”
In the under-19 Coates Talent League girls’ competition, the Bushrangers lost their third game for the season, going down to the Giants by 59 points in Wodonga.
Co-captain and Shepparton United product Holly Egan earned a spot among the best Bushrangers players for her performance.
In her second match for the season, Egan was as busy as ever, collecting 25 touches, three tackles and one goal for her side.
The Bushrangers were still in the match at half-time as they trailed by 18 points (9-27) before the Giants were able to kick away in the second half to secure the win, with the scores finishing 2.3 (15) to 11.8 (74).
Matilda Henderson (United), Leila Creevey (United) and Payten Johnston (Shepparton Swans) were Shepparton’s other representatives in the match.
The Bushrangers’ next game for both leagues is against the Oakleigh Chargers on Mother’s Day at Deakin Reserve.
