Chris Febvre • January 20, 2021
Juniors Ready
Juniors Ready
Next season’s junior footballers have taken to the field for the 2021 W&DJFL play allocation day.
The new initiative was organised by AFL North East Border, to assist the Wangaratta juniors clubs in having balanced and even teams.
Football Development Manager Zac Hedin said that normally, the process would happen at the end of the Auskick year. “This year without Auskick it’s been a bit harder to gauge where the kids are at, their standard and that sort of thing, which we’d normally get off the coaches from Auskick,” Hedin said.
“But doing it at this time of year and in a bit more depth is pretty new. “So these three sessions are designed to give us a bit of a look, get the kids back involved and kicking the footy before we send them off to their junior league clubs.”
While the new program is a great chance for the kids to get out and kick the footy around, Hedin doesn’t think it will replace the old method of player allocation.
“Normally we’d like to have these kids allocated in September/October, so they sort of know the year before they go up to junior league where they’re going to. “It’s purely been forced because of COVID-19. “It might mean that we do something a bit more in depth at the end of the Auskick year each year if this goes well.”
As for the scope of the sessions, Hedin said they are accessible to all who want to play junior club football, regardless of experience. “It’s just pretty basic drills today, just to get a gauge on where the kids are at. “Obviously, they haven’t touched a footy or had a proper kick of the footy in a little while, so we want to get them back used to bouncing the ball, kicking the ball, handballing the ball, marking the ball. “Then over the next couple of sessions we might play a few little games, get a bit more game sense, see how the kids go finding the footy and picking the ball up in a pressure situation as well.”
Naturally, the program is compliant with COVIDSafe policies. “We’ve got the QR code there, sanitiser, we get all the parents to register, that sort of thing. “They’ve all brought down their own drink bottles, their own sunscreen, that sort of stuff. “So we are trying to do the best we can with what we’ve been given.”
Hedin is assisted by a group of volunteer coaches from both the Magpies and Rovers football clubs, whose expertise and knowledge will be passed onto the future football stars. “It’s good to get them involved because obviously hopefully that’s where a lot of these kids will end up.”
ARTICLE: Nathan Devries
PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Wangaratta Chronicle. Ruby Newton in action at the W&DJFL allocation session last week.
This pre season Nines is coming to the OKFNL. A great opportunity for OKFNL clubs to connect with local junior footballers and introduce them to their club ahead of the 2026 season. Local OKFNL clubs can enter teams of 9-12 players, with prizes and giveaways for clubs who attract the most junior footballers, most registrations across teams and team spirit on the day! When - Sunday 16th of November Where - Wareena Park, Wangaratta Time - 10am to 4pm Cost - $350 per team (approx $35 per player) Ages - 16+ For more information on Nines you can check out all the details here - https://play.afl/play/afl-nines To enter a team or find out more please contact Daniel Saville (OKFNL Ops Manager) - okfnloperations@gmail.com
The 2025 North East Border V Line Cup teams have been selected, with Division One and Two boys teams and the girls teams preparing to compete in Ballarat. AFL North East Border would like to thank all the coaches and support staff who have been working tirelessly over the past two months preparing the squads to compete at the carnival in Ballarat on the 23rd and 24th of September. The NEB teams will compete against the Goulburn Murray teams on Tuesday the 23rd at Mars Stadium, before taking on the Greater Western Victoria teams on Wednesday 24th at City Oval. Please check out the AFLNEB Facebook and Instagram pages to follow the action!
Ben has been involved with the local Wangaratta Auskick centre for five years and the coordinator for four of those, the exciting announcement was announced at the allocation night for Auskickers graduating to the Wangaratta and District Junior Football League in front of local Auskickers, parents and local WDJFL Clubs. The prize for the award is a grand final weekend experience including three nights' accommodation in Melbourne, a ticket to the Welcome to Melbourne function, attendance at the grand final parade, and a reserve seat ticket to the 27 September grand final. Over his time, Ben has secured significant sponsorship for the program; has initiated the all-girls' group; provides a support network for smaller centres across Wangaratta and surrounding regions; contributes to community events like allocation night and puts in a heap of extra work with the allocation process; organises half-time Auskick games at local football league matches; and, of course, the countless hours spent organising jumpers, certificates, equipment and everything in between, year after year. Wangaratta is regularly one of the biggest centres in the state, if not the nation, and this year was the biggest in Victoria. That, as you can imagine, makes it almost a full-time commitment, year-round. A huge congratulations to Ben from everyone at AFLNEB!
