Murray Bushrangers Talent Manager Mick Wilson gives his thoughts on the club's upcoming NAB League Boys season.

2018 FINISH: 5th (10-8 record)

2018 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Ely Smith / 2. Lachlan Ash / 3. Jimmy Boyer

2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR SELECTIONS: Hudson Garoni, Ely Smith

2018 AFL DRAFTEES: Ely Smith (Brisbane), Laitham Vandermeer (Western Bulldogs), Jacob Koschitzke (Hawthorn), Mathew Walker (Hawthorn), Finbar O'Dwyer (Carlton), Jordon Butts* (Adelaide)

OTHER FORMER PLAYERS ON AFL LISTS:

  • Selected in 2003: David Mundy (Fremantle) 294 games
  • 2004: Brett Deledio (Richmond/GWS) 243/18
  • 2006: Ben Reid (Collingwood) 142, Jarrod Harbrow* (Western Bulldogs/Gold Coast) 70/154
  • 2007: Ben McEvoy (St Kilda/Hawthorn) 91/96, Dawson Simpson (Geelong/GWS) 28/11
  • 2008: Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne) 188, Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood) 211, Sam Wright (North Melbourne) 132, Tom Rockliff (Brisbane/Port Adelaide) 154/18
  • 2009: Sam Reid (Sydney) 121, Taylor Duryea (Hawthorn/Western Bulldogs) 118/0, Alex Keath (Gold Coast/Adelaide) 0/12
  • 2010: Shaun Atley (North Melbourne) 176, Anthony Miles (GWS/Richmond/Gold Coast) 10/61/0, Jonathon Ceglar (Collingwood/Hawthorn) 0/61
  • 2011: Jamie Elliott (Collingwood) 89, Jack Crisp* (Brisbane/Collingwood) 18/92
  • 2012: Tom Clurey (Port Adelaide) 60, Matt Taberner* (Fremantle) 62
  • 2013: Jarman Impey (Port Adelaide/Hawthorn) 75/24, Kayne Turner* (North Melbourne) 58
  • 2014: Caleb Marchbank (GWS/Carlton) 7/28, Daniel Howe (Hawthorn) 50, Dougal Howard (Port Adelaide) 30
  • 2015: Josh Schache (Brisbane/Western Bulldogs) 27/13, Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) 60
  • 2016: Will Brodie (Gold Coast) 11, Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne) 35, Todd Marshall (Port Adelaide) 10, Esava Ratugolea (Geelong) 8, Ryan Garthwaite (Richmond) 2, Harry Morrison (Hawthorn) 22, James Cousins* (Hawthorn) 7, Max Lynch* (Collingwood) 0, Zach Sproule* (GWS) 0
  • 2017: Charlie Spargo (Melbourne) 18, Ben Paton (St Kilda) 3, Harrison Jones* (Hawthorn) 0, Doulton Langlands* (St Kilda) 0

2019 AFL ACADEMY:

  • Level 2 (18yo): Lachlan Ash, Will Chandler
  • Level 1 (17yo): Ethan Baxter, Charlie Byrne, Elijah Hollands

2019 HEAD COACH: Mark Brown (first season)

2019 SEASON START: vs Gippsland Power @ RAMS Arena, Sunday March 24  

TOP 2019 AFL DRAFT PROSPECTS

Lachlan Ash (local club – Shepparton): "Lachie is extremely fit and has a good mix of speed and endurance. He's a half-back flanker who reads the play really well, is very clean with the football and is very competitive. We'll develop him through the midfield this year. He played in Shepparton's senior (Goulburn Valley FL) premiership in 2018."

Below: Shepparton product Lachie Ash

Will Chandler (Corowa Rutherglen): "Will is in the Allies AFL Academy squad and he had a strong bottom-age season last year. He's a small forward with really strong defensive pressure and a beautiful left-foot kick. He also played a bit in the midfield and on a wing in 2018, and he might get some time across half back this year."

Cameron Wild (local club TBC): "Cam played for the Northern Knights last year but he has relocated to Shepparton. He's physically really strong and played through the midfield and on a wing with the Knights. He's one of our best performers athletically and we're hoping he can be a strong player through the midfield for us this year."

Jimmy Boyer (Congupna): "Jimmy finished third in our best-and-fairest last year playing a half back/midfield role, and he'll probably move into the midfield full-time this year. He's an unassuming player who's very good with his work inside the contests and very clean with his ball use."

Will Christie (19yo in 2019, Wangaratta Rovers): "Will has been with us for two years but he's only played a handful of games (five). He's a developing 200cm tall forward who will do a bit of work in the ruck. He's very agile when the ball hits the ground, has good leg speed and is a strong contested mark."

Liam Fiore (19yo, Shepparton United): "Liam suffered an injury during the 2018 pre-season and didn't play his first game until Round 9, but he performed really well late last year. He's a 196cm key defender and we think that if he continues his development, he'll be a strong prospect."

POTENTIAL DRAFT SURPRISE PACKET

Nick Irvine (Tungamah): "Nick appeared in four matches for us as a bottom-age player in 2018. He played across half back last season and featured in our best players in the Elimination Final against the Sandringham Dragons. He's had a strong pre-season and is looking to have a consistent year at either half back or half forward."

BOTTOM-AGER TO WATCH

Elijah Hollands (Wodonga): "Elijah played the last three games for us in 2018 as a 16-year-old – and kicked goals in each of them. He played at centre half forward for Vic Country in last year's (NAB AFL) U16 Championships and earned All Australian selection. He pretty much ticks all the boxes."

LEADERSHIP MATERIAL

"Lachlan Ash (see above) and Will Chandler (see above) have shown leadership skills with their approach to training. We also have some other boys who have been good on the track and might be in the leadership group, like Nick Irvine (see above), Jimmy Boyer (see above), Dylan Clarke (18yo, Wodonga Raiders), Jye Chalcraft (18yo, Shepparton United) and Hudson Kaak(18yo, Seymour). 

FAMOUS FOOTBALL RELATIONS

Cameron Wild (see above): Son of former AFL player Jason Wild – 70 games for Collingwood.

Will Chandler (see above): Son of former AFL player Jeff Chandler – 50 games for North Melbourne.

Elijah Hollands (see above): Son of former AFL player Ben Hollands – eight games for Richmond 

TEAM STRENGTHS

"We'll probably have a fairly strong midfield group; we have some boys in our midfield who played quite a few games last year. We also have a team goal to be able to handle the travel component of a long season a bit better this year, just being a bit smarter in the way we prepare for and recover from travel. We haven't won a game in August since 2015 and that's probably when the players are getting a bit tired."