Jared Service - Mooroopna FNC
Sunday 6th April
Things got underway today at Shepparton Library, where we met at 11.30am before getting on the bus and heading off to Melbourne. Everyone seemed a little nervous but it was good to get around one another and get into the Bushies’ experience that we’ve all been looking forward to.
Once we got to Rydges we were allocated our rooms and room mates. I’m rooming with Shepparton United ruckman Aubrey Coote. A few things I’ve quickly learnt about Aubrey is that he could talk under water and loves a good rap battle! Most importantly, he’s always up for a chat which settles the nerves a bit and like most of the other boys, is really excited about the next few days.
We then got organised for training and went to the oval opposite the motel. It was a solid run with a focus on our kick ins and structures leaving our backline.
Back at the hotel, we got ready for tea at The Preston Football Club. Coach Mick O’Dwyer was bit stressed on the bus, refreshing his AFL Live App at every chance, looking for the most up to date Kangaroos vs Power scores. We’re all pretty happy the Kangas won because he should be in a good mood tomorrow for our game against Gippsland Power.
It was great to get our big Full Forward Jesse Sweet up in front of the Division 1 boys and the girls team at dinner to sing him a Happy Birthday!
Back at the motel, I’m a bit nervous that I won’t get enough sleep and this will affect my performance tomorrow. One thing I’m really excited about is being the team Vice Captain. I’m really proud as this is a big achievement. I’m looking forward to getting out there and leading the way tomorrow and set the example for my team mates.
Hopefully, I’ll be talking about a big win against Gippsland Power tomorrow.
Monday 7th April
This morning started fairly early for most players and coaches with a 2am emergency lock in over the speakers in the motel. I slept through the 20 second announcement and thought Aubrey’s imagination was running wild when he ran through the emergency procedure in every detail this morning. I later found out he wasn’t lying with plenty of talk over breakfast in ‘Chops’ Lambourn’s room. I was a bit disappointed with the skim milk on the Nutri Grain so hopefully we can sort out some full cream milk by tomorrow morning!
After breakfast we had a leadership meeting with Mick O’Dwyer and Ryan Forsyth who spoke about our roles as leaders on and off the field. We had a quick training but all of this seems like a blur with the excitement and highlights from the day.
We left on the bus, with everyone fairly nervous and anxious but really keen to play. The first thing I noticed as we rolled into Victoria Park was the size of the grandstand. It made our regular Saturday venue seem so small.
It was great to see our parents getting involved with lunches and wherever else they could. We sat and watched the Division 3 boys win a nail biter by a point against North Central Mallee which was great!
We got ready in the enormous change rooms of Vic Park and it was easy to see everyone in the room focused and fired up, ready to redeem ourselves from our practice games. Mick presented us with the challenge of beating our opponents as individuals but playing as a team. Our preparation was great but I was sick to my gut from the nerves at the first bounce. It was real body on body early and really physical from the start. The Gippsland boys liked to run in space and move the ball quickly but our tackling in close and defensive pressure at the contest was great.
On the day, Jayden Armstrong stood out with his strong contested marking and 4 goal effort. Jimmy Chiller’s defensive runs to support his team mates was something Mick pointed out to the boys. Zane Newbound had a tough job on a quality full forward and he competed all day and finished the game really well.
When the final siren sounded I had a feeling of relief and proud of the team finishing the game off as 1 goal winners! Everyone stood up in one way or another and it was a real team effort, turning it around from our trial form.
Recovery at the motel saw our two big men, Aubrey and Johnny Allitt, jumping in the pool without any thought of water temperature! The other boys were a little more careful and backline coach and runner Pete Bingham was very defensive about the boys splashing water on his upper body!
Dinner was a great highlight having Steele Sidebottom, Shaun Atley, Johnathon Ceglar and Anthony Miles coming to talk to us about their experiences as Murray Bushrangers and AFL players. The one thing I took out of it was the message of taking pride of how far we’ve come and to grab this opportunity with both hands. They don’t come around every day and we need to make the most of it!
Once again an awesome day - just hoping we can hold our form against Peninsula tomorrow, who will definitely be out to knock us off! Hopefully a win will get us a spot in the Division 1 Grand Final against the winner of the Ovens & Murray and Geelong!
Tuesday 8th April
Today I woke up for brekky with no alarm stories and some full cream milk for my cereal! We had a very light training run just to loosen up and get mentally prepared for a big game against Peninsula Stingrays.
We were very lucky to get the chance to visit the home of the Western Bulldogs. Jett Trotter, one of our team leaders was fairly excited about this opportunity as he barracks for The Doggies! Simon Dalrymple, their recruiting manager showed us around and spoke to us about different players and the things that recruiters look for in players.
He made some really helpful comments and there were some things that really stood out to me:
- He spoke about Jack McCrae, who had just come off a big game in the Dogs win over Richmond. When the recruiters were looking at him Simon spoke about him rarely putting in a poor performance. He was so consistent and this is what sets apart a lot of potential recruits from the others. He followed this up with a comment about how determined and resilient Jack was. This is one of his strengths and it was probably why he was so consistent.
- He also spoke about making your better skills elite while still getting your weaknesses up to standard. The perfect example Simon gave was Sam Mitchell with his work around the stoppages and elite hand passing skills and use of both sides of his body.
- The other thing was being a committed and good learner at school. Because of the information needed to take in game plans and structures, this was important to many recruiters.
Some faces we saw included Stewart Crameri and Rohan Smith!
Preparation and our focus wasn’t as good this afternoon and we were taught a lesson from the Peninsula boys in the wet. Most players were a bit off and Peninsula were more determined and hungry for a victory and it showed in play and on the scoreboard.
Matt Ryan stood up with his aggression around the ball, second and third efforts and 1 percenters. We were below our best and left the ground gutted and disappointed with our effort.
At our team meeting we received and gave honest feedback, looked at any improvements from last game to this game and gave one another a fairly honest assessment!
Preparation tomorrow will be important. We need to show up with the right mind set, with the attitude that I will beat my opponent. This is one very simple thing that I am determined to do!
Wednesday 9th April
I woke up early to get my shoulder strapped before breakfast and once again enjoyed the full cream milk!! When we cleaned up the rooms, I was in a little panic due to Aubrey’s clothes being mixed together with mine but we got sorted in time for our room inspection.
On the bus everyone seemed up and ready, prepared for the big day! The first thing we noticed was the wet and muddy centre square. We waited in the grandstand before entering the rooms. There was a feeling of readiness compared to yesterday at Melbourne University.
After a short team meeting, I could tell we were ready!
In the first half, there were a lot of players around the ball and the forward pressure was great. Matt Ryan was again playing a great game, with clean hands below his knees, Jesse Sweet was setting the example, hard at it when the ball was in dispute and there was plenty of gut running from Jess Cuccinotta.
While we started a little slow in the third, our performance was good with Jayden Armstrong working hard in front of goals and Jett Trotter quick with his hands and organisation around the stoppages.
After being in front most of the day we just couldn’t pull off the win, with Ballarat kicking a goal in the final minute! It was a tough one to swallow as we wanted it so much but just slipped at the final hurdle.
Jesse Trower and Joel McCarten were great all day. Jesse’s defensive pressure and ability to win the ball and clear our defensive 50 was super, while Joel worked hard on the wing and picked up plenty of possessions around the stoppages.
After the game Best and Fairest awards were given to our top 3 footballers over the 3 days.
Matt Ryan, Jimmy Chiller and Nick Parker received these awards, while Jesse Trower received the coaches award for his attitude, effort and quality of football he played!
I was really grateful for the opportunity to represent and lead the Goulburn Murray team and really appreciate the effort of the coaches to help and improve us as players and people. It’s definitely something I’d recommend any young footballer in the area to work towards.
Last Modified on 22/11/2016 19:05