Local junior footballers had the opportunity to showcase their skills against the best of the Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League on Sunday.
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Denilquin Rovers players Cameron Wills, Tyson Wills and Jackson Muldoon-Leetham, along with Blighty footballers Will Dudley and Dean Macdonald represented Picola and District League in the under-17s side.
In the under-14s players was Baxter Cowley (Rovers) and Cobi Johnson (Blighty).
Under-14s interleague coach Darcy Robinson said while the side did suffer a loss, it was exciting to see the upcoming talent in the league.
“It’s always a tough game against Mornington Peninsula, they have been training for a long time and we get a couple of weeks to get a side together a do a bit of training,” he said.
“But each year I see the Picola League growing and growing, and while coming up against a metro football league is always challenging, it is a great opportunity for the boys.”
Robinson said each and every boy in the squad played the role that was asked of them.
“Every kid played their role throughout the whole game, which is all we could have asked for,” he said.
“We probably just lacked a little bit of height and weight, but it was really awesome to see the talent which is coming through the league.
“There was a lull for junior and senior football due to COVID, to be on tje other side of that and see the best in the league come together - the Picola League definitely has a bright future ahead of it with these kids.”
Better players for the under-14s were Seth Cormick, Hunter Howells, Lucas Eales, Harry Ryan and Logan White.
Picola League’s under-14s interleague side.
The under-17s PDFL side also went down to a well-oiled MPJFL outfit, but coach Matt Dudley, from Blighty Football Club, said he was very impressed with how the side performed.
“The boys all fronted up and played really well against a very good competition,” Dudley said.
“The MPJFL side has trained for months together, and we only has two training sessions.
“But the boys that were chosen to represent their clubs and the league played a great brand of football and each and every one of them put in 100 percent effort.
Dudley said for the first time actually playing a proper game together, the side was competitive and played a “good brand of footy”.
“The advice I gave them going into the game was to be the first to the ball, look for our key targets and move the ball quickly, which they all did.
“I was very happy with how they performed.”
Dudley said it is exciting for the league to see the quality of the juniors coming up through the ranks.
“It should make for some very exciting senior football in years to come.”
Better players for the under-17s were Lachlan Phillips, Liam Williams, Ben Kennedy, Lochie O’Brien and Finn Walters.
Official scores from Sunday’s games were not available to the Pastoral Times at the time of going to print yesterday.
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