Chris Yeend
The Riddell District Junior Football League kicked off its interleague campaign at Northcote and Sunbury on Wednesday night as part of the AFL Victoria Metropolitan Championships. While the results weren't favourable for all four teams competing against strong opposition, there were a great number of positives that came out of their first hit-outs that will aid them in their quest for victories in the later stages of the carnival.
"Our guys tried really hard, we had good quarters, our hard quarters were okay but as good sides do, they had the run on," RDFL Interleague coordinator Rob Beatson said, "the other sides finished strong and their intensity was stronger than ours."
The local lads in Division One of the Under 15s and 14s took on the Essendon District Football League at Boardman Reserve and the Division Two teams played against the Northern Football League. The EDFL interleague campaign had five months of extra preparation than the RDFL given that its teams start training in November while the RDFL hits the track in March.
"When you get our best 26 and compare their best 26, it took us a while to pick up the tempo as they were better-prepared than us," Beatson said.
He said that the EDFL side that played at Sunbury in the Under 15s took out the championships last year in the Under 14 division. The RDFL team definitely had the job ahead of it. This is the first season that the league had featured a second division for the Under 15 and Under 14s. There were two full teams of new kids who had their first taste of interleague football and they will only be better for the experience they will take back to their junior clubs once the championships have finished.
Beatson is confident that all sides will improve next week after having their first hit-out on Wednesday. He highlighted that the concept of the interleague program is extremely important.
"Its important for the camaraderie in the league when players who have been playing together at interleague level play against each other, it makes the league stronger," Beatson said.
Northcote played host to some controversy with a miscommunication between the Northern Junior Football League and RDFL over jumpers and shorts, with both teams arriving at the ground to play in similar stripes. They had to make do with the situation and continue to play.
UNDER 12s
The RDFL Under 12 team is roaring to go ahead of its 2012 campaign when it plays two big matches on Sunday June 10 at Altona. This will be a big hit-out for all players involved under the great coaching of Woodend Under 14 coach John Nicholls. The squad held its first training night at the Racecourse Reserve in Woodend early last month with a list of 80 players across all 16 junior teams in the competition and held its final training run and squad cut last night.
"We are committed to taking 16 kids, one from each team, and we top up with the best 10 to take a list of 26," Under 12 team manager and RDFL life member Garry Stephens said.
Stephens has been involved with the interleague program for a number of years and said that the efforts at training were critical to players getting selected in the final squad.
"At this level, players are getting picked based on performance in front of the coaches at each training session and all players are given an equal opportunity to be selected," Stephens said.
He used the example of a group of kids who were on school camp for three weeks and were given the chance to prove themselves at training on their return when there were multiple cuts to the list at training sessions that they missed. The interleague concept is very important for players at that level.
"It is very important because it gives players the opportunity to be coached by different coaches outside their clubs," Stephens said, "they have the chance to play with players of equal ability."
Stephens was an RDFL representative on Wednesday night and commended the great catering that was provided by the Sunbury Kangaroos Junior Football Club.
Last Modified on 01/06/2012 15:19