Derwent Valley well represented in U15s All-Schools national football comp

Lane Milner (Brighton Junior Football Club), William Free (New Norfolk Junior Football Club), Aydan Bailey (NNJFC), Jonty Daft (BJFC), Thomas Bearman (BJFC), Zac Pfitzner (BJFC) and Mason Whitney (BJFC) are among the promising footballers at the cusp of a new era in Aussie Rules football in Tasmania.

Run by Schools Australia, the round robin contest involves all states and territories and starts on Saturday, July 27 and continues throughout the following week.

Queechy High School teacher and coach Darren Crawford said that selecting the 25 players for the squad was a smoother process than in previous years, due to the regional academies created as part of the AFL’s pathway to the new Tasmanian Devils team.
 

“The cream of the under 15s has already been identified so there was a lot less culling required to get our All-Schools side,” he said.

“This is an exciting time for upcoming boys and girls for footy in our state – it is fantastic that our players have a real pathway now, and this crop of under 15s will be able to slot into that with future opportunities like under 16 and 18 Tasmanian Devils programs – in fact two of our All-Schools players are currently away with the State Under 16s Tasmanian team for the National Championships. 

Brighton player Mason Whitney and Prospect’s Sam Husband will return just in time to head off again with the All-Schools team.

Nicole Poke from the North-West will coach the girls under 15s which includes Brighton player Mia Barwick from Oatlands.
 

Also from Oatlands, and playing for Brighton at club level, ruckman/full-forward Lane Milner has also secured a spot on the boys’ team.

Crawford is involved in the Devils U18 development side and knows all too well what a boost it is to young players to get interstate experience.

“Their improved skills become obvious as they move up through the divisions,” he said.

“This crop of 15-year-olds will soon be part of the AFL draft considerations - it’s a great time to be a junior footballer.

All-schools squad training was held on Tuesday at the Uni Mowbray ground at Newnham and will be the only training session before competition begins.

“The coaches in each region, north, south and north-west, have done a phenomenal job being consistent with their messaging, it’s really worked to create a model that seems to be working,” Crawford said.