Blue and White: North East Knights

Over the years, the likes of Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Cameron White have come through the pathway system to represent Australia at the highest level.              

Established as a key component of the talent identification system, we continue our preview of the 16 regions in the lead up to this year’s Victorian Bushrangers Pathway Championships.

North East Knights

Under-18s

Coach – Heath Naughton

2012-13 Finish – Qualifying Final

Under-16s

Coach – Noel Bailey

2012-13 Finish – Semi Final

Under-14s

Coach – Max Shepherd

2012-13 Finish – Preliminary Final

The North East Knights will be looking for improvement after an inconsistent 2012-13 Victorian Bushrangers Pathway program that saw only five wins across the three age groups.

Under-18 coach Heath Naughton believes that despite last year’s performance, they have weapons at their disposal that could see them go deep into the finals in all teams.

“Our strength is undoubtedly the depth we have across our squad,” Naughton said.

“We’ve retained a fair few of our bottom age players so they have the experience of playing in the carnival. And when we add our new players to the squad, we’ll have a great balance of youth and experience.”

Naughton knows his top age players will play a big role in his under-18 side, having retained some key players from last year’s team.

“We’ve got Isaac Willett back in our initial squad, along with Callum Nankervis who’s at Essendon Cricket Club in their second XI,” he said.

“There’s also some hot competition for wicketkeepers, and Matt Crawshaw is leading the way there.”

In the under-16s, Naughton knows their success will be key to implementing a winning mentality for the top age players moving up the ranks.

“You always hope to be there at the end of the carnival, no matter what age you are,” Naughton said.

A player hot on the lips of the coaching staff will be Brad Melville, whose scintillating performance in the Under-14 Championships was capped off by a breathtaking century in the semi-finals.

“He’ll have a big challenge ahead of him (in the under-16s) but they’ve got faith in him” Naughton said.

“He has plenty of talent and he’s a great prospect for the future.”

In the under-14s, Naughton knows their development is the number one priority for them.

“They did really well last year and we’ll look to replicate that,” he said.

“We really don’t want to put too much pressure on them because they’re kids. But if they bring energy and enthusiasm, the results will take care of themselves.”