By Jonty Ralphsmith
Local boys Mitch Toner and Cody Templeton have been selected to represent Vic Country in the under-16s national championships which got underway at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Saturday.
Toner comes from a famous Narre Warren family, playing a key hand in the club’s under-19s premiership win last season, in between school footy commitments for Caulfield Grammar.
A strongly built athlete with power suited to the modern game, Toner spent time forward on Saturday, taking some big marks and breaking tackles with ease.
He also laid a massive tackle in the middle of the ground which led to a crucial third quarter goal for Vic Country against the run of play.
“We used him as a clearance beast last year,” said Narre under-19s coach Mark Krystalyn.
“It worked well because of his height and bulk.
“We can play him up forward and his contested work is really good – he’s very good overhead and uses the ball well.
“He’s a really good communicator too for a young fella – he ticks all boxes.”
Meanwhile, Templeton is a star on the rise from Warragul Industrials, making his senior debut as a 15-year-old last season in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition.
He showed his tenacity on Saturday, stepping through traffic at times and using the footy well.
“He’s a very special player,” said Warragul Industrials coach Michael Duncan.
“That’s not just what he does on Saturday, I watch him at training and his attitude towards training is at a different level compared to other footballers – senior and junior.
“He’s a bit lighter than most but we put him in the midfield, no worries about doing that at all.
“He’s got class – his ability to look inboard and find a target and hit it that a lot of players can’t do is really exciting.
“He can go in and get it or win it on the outside; he’s good by foot, he’s dangerous around goals, he works hard.
Having played alongside Gold Coast AFL-listed Ben Ainsworth when he was a junior, the Dusties mentor sees parallels in the way they go about it.
“At his age, he’s a complete footballer – I haven’t seen a footballer as good as him at his age since I coached Ben Ainsworth,” he said.
“They’re similar in the way they’re fearless, so clean with the footy, hard-working and trained at a different standard to everyone else.”
Meanwhile, Marlon Neocleous led the charge among the rest of the Gippslanders, showing pace, silkiness and pressure throughout a low-scoring 9.17 71 to 7.7 49 Vic Country victory.
The dashing Xavier Ladbrook was also in action from Gippsland, as was Hamish Gill.
Stingrays crafty forward Marcus Prasad, the speedy Jackson Phillips and key-position player Seamus Doherty did some nice things while Darcy Szerszyn, Gus Kennedy and Noah Wisken were also in action.
