Chris Yeend
Three local junior footballers have produced strong performances to make their mark on the biggest stage of their young careers. Romsey's Jake Lever and Gisborne duo Matt Goodyear and Jack James have recently returned from representing the Victorian Metropolitan Under 16 team in the 2012 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships.
The event took place from July 7 to 14 and the locals were in remarkable form, pitted against the country's best Under 16 footballers.
Victoria Metro was placed in Division One alongside Victoria Country, South Australia and Western Australia in three testing games. After a series of close matches, Vic Metro finished third overall with one win and two losses while Western Australia took out the competition with three straight wins after defeating Victoria Country in the last game of the series by 14 points.
The locals enjoyed their experience sporting the Big V and found it a good challenge. The squads took a very professional approach with regular training sessions and rehab in between games over the course of the eight days of the carnival.
Gisborne's Jack James has made a name for himself as a hard and courageous player. He was given difficult tasks matched up on some of Australia's finest indigenous players at that level. He played well across half-back and in roles through the backline. Matt Goodyear had a testing first game in the midfield but was able to get a goal in the one-point win over Vic Country. He gained his confidence in the second and third games and won plenty of the ball to set-up many Metro forward thrusts. He was one of the better players in the team and worked tirelessly to win contested possession.
Romsey's Jake Lever gave dynamic performances across the series at full-back, centre half-back and the occasion stint in the forward line. He was vice-captain of the team and captain of the backline. In game one of the carnival, Lever played a crucial role on the highly-rated Hugh Goddard for Victoria Country, brother of St Kilda's Brendan. Goddard was dominant in the first term, booting two goals at centre half-forward. Lever moved onto him in the second term and shut down his dominance for the rest of the game. Goddard starred in the final two games and was named most valuable player. In game two, Lever lined up on the reigning All Australian centre half-forward and held him to three goals while gaining 17 touches. He drifted forward in game three and kicked a goal.
"Jake enjoyed the experience immensely," proud dad Alan Lever said, "It was a great experience and it gave him an understanding of competing at the next level."
After each game, each member of the squad was required to review how they could improve, how they played on their opponents and contributed to the team. This aided their self-assessment, mental preparation and personal development. The players had a structured routine that started at 7.30am and finished at 9.30pm each night.
They heard from regular guest speakers throughout the week. Some of the highlights included 2011 AFL number one draft pick John Patton who spoke to all the Victoria Metro squad members, and AFL national talent identification manager Kevin Sheehan spoke to them about what it takes to make it to the next level.
Alan said that Calder Cannons Under 16 coach and Victoria Metro assistant coach Chris Fellows had a big impact on all the boys. He imparted great knowledge on the boys and had the benefit of knowing their game inside and out at Calder Cannons level to be able to assist them in improving their skills over the carnival.
"They all learnt a lot and he was a good communicator," Alan said.
Victoria Metro high performance manager Anton Grbac also joined the squad over the carnival and Alan said that he was with the program all the way through and very handy for Jake's development.
"Anton worked with Jake one-on-one and was a great mentor," Alan said.
FROM THE COACH - Mark Fisher
Matt Goodyear
"It (the carnival) was a big thing for him. He competed very well and worked hard in the midfield. We encouraged him to use the ball more with his hands in congestion and this will start to help with his decision-making that will benefit the team more."
Jack James
"He had a very good carnival. He played as a small back and made good decisions. We want him to play more out of his comfort zone and make the opposition more accountable for him almost in a Heath Shaw (Collingwood) sort of role. Today's football is about playing all over the ground. We wanted him to be the first point of attack and play what we call a 'hybrid' backman. Gone are the days where you are just a defender. The biggest thing with him is that he needs to lift his football fitness and then we will see what he can truly do. He has the knowledge and ability to play the role and that's fantastic, he is on the right track."
Jake Lever
"He was very good. He played forward and back. When he played forward, he loved being competitive. His willingness to help around the ground was really good and as a defender, he played a really good role. His leadership was very good and was voted into the leadership group. We threw him out of his comfort zone and to his credit, he did well."
THE CARNIVAL
Game one
Vic Metro 4.2, 7.6, 10.9, 11.11 (77) defeated Vic Country 3.1, 5.4, 7.6, 11.10 (76)
Goals: (Vic Metro) McKenize, Wright 2, McLaren, Goodyear, Viojo-Rainbow, Lever, Blake, Sheriden-Ferrie, Ahern 1.
Best: (Vic Metro) Urban, Moore, Wright, Lever, Brayshaw, McKenize, Miller.
Game two
Western Australia 2.2, 6.4, 8.8, 11.10 (76) defeated Vic Metro 2.1, 3.2, 6.2, 7.4 (46)
Goals: (Vic Metro) Viojo-Rainbow 3, Nielson, McLaren, Carboni, Sullivan.
Best: (Vic Metro) McLaren, Brayshaw, Lowe, Sullivan, Miller.
Game three
South Australia 1.2, 4.4, 11.4, 12.8 (80) defeated Vic Metro 3.3, 6.3, 6.5, 10.6 (66)
Goals: (Vic Metro) Ahern 2, Brayshaw, Goodyear, Langdon, Lever, Moore, Petryshyn, Sullivan, Viojo-Rainbow 1.
Best: (Vic Metro): Brayshaw, Nielson, Myers, Carboni, Sheridan-Ferrie.
Last Modified on 01/08/2012 11:37