NAB League | Clohesy and George shine in Bushrangers’ strong win over Rebels

The round five result sees the Bushies enter the upcoming four-week NAB League break with a healthy 4-1 season record.

And it was a pair of local teenagers who played influential roles in the win.

George, a former Tatura junior, was a live-wire inside forward 50, booting six goals.

The talented forward played deep and threatened whenever the ball was in his vicinity.

Clohesy, on the other hand, was brilliant across half-back and excelled at the coal-face.

The Shepparton Swans talent led from the front with his attack on the contest and chalked up 15 crucial disposals.

Bushrangers lead coach Mark Brown praised the efforts of his side’s class performers.

“Both Brayden and Max were our clear standouts,” he said.

“Brayden has got an amazing set of skills; he has elite speed, a thumping kick and powerful around the contest. He’s working on combining all of them (skills).

“When he’s deep forward like he was on Sunday he is a genuine threat in front of goals.

“And Max’s ability to always compete is unrivalled. In the first half, when the game was at its hottest, was when he was at his best. He was super competitive and set the standard for us.”

The Bushrangers enter the break in third spot on the ladder, which Brown described as “a great position to be in”.

The Bushies mentor spoke about the positives that came out of the win.

“We knew Rebels would be very physical and their tackling in the first half put us under a lot of pressure,” Brown said.

“But to the boys’ credit they stepped up and were able to wrestle the contest in their favour.

“We have been generating a lot of inside 50s, which has been really pleasing, but we just haven’t converted.

“We had 51 inside-50s and produced 29 scoring shots, which is going at almost 60 per cent, which we’re happy with as a team. The next step is just converting those chances into goals.

“At the end of the day, the group is improving each week and that’s all we ask of them.”