Blue and White: Northern Rivers
Under-18s
Coach – Sean McCann
2012-13 Finish – Qualifying Final
Under-16s
Coach – Brendan Kenna
2012-13 Finish – Semi-Final
Under-14s
Coach -Jacob DeAraugo
2012-13 Finish – Final
The Northern Rivers are determined to not let their rivals from the big smoke over shadow them at this year’s Victorian Bushrangers Pathway Championships.
“Our priority is for these country boys to come down to Melbourne and showcase how good they really are,” Regional Cricket Manager Damien Dunlop said.
After securing an appearance in the under-14 Final, Dunlop is desperate to consolidate on their spirited performance.
“We’ll be looking for strong performances through all of our teams,” Dunlop said
“All the sides have bonded really well and credit has to go to the coaches who are well experienced in the Pathway Program.”
The under-18s hold high hopes for Dunlop, due to the amount of experience the squad possesses.
“We’re expecting a strong performance from them,” Dunlop said.
“Most of the boys have come through the Northern Rivers system, so they know what’s expected of them at State Championships.”
Eyes will be on key batsman Isaac Conway and James Billington – the latter of which scored a century at last year’s carnival.
The under-16s are a stark contrast however, with promising batsmen Beauden Rinaldi and Ryan Hartley the sole returnees in the squad of 13.
“We’ll be looking for leadership from those two boys because they’ve got the experience,” Dunlop said.
Dunlop is also excited about the prospects of four debutants to the Northern Rivers program, hoping they will inspire those who have tried out in previous years but were not successful
“A lot of boys miss out at under-14s level and think that their careers are over but these boys are testament to the fact that there is always hope,” Dunlop said.
The under-14s have also seen a major overhaul, with only two players returning to the side that was defeated by the Barwon Rockets in last year’s decider.
“Under-14s is pretty much a new side – our side last year made the state finals but most of them have moved on,” Dunlop said.
“In saying that, our squad is looking really strong.”
Dunlop Is looking for his youngest group to take the region one step further this year and firmly believes he has the talent with both bat and ball to do so.
“We’re looking for runs from James Ryan, Todd Murphy and Andrew Poppa at the top of the order,” he said.
“And we’ve got a very balanced bowling line up, with Daniel Clohessy and Ali McCann leading the way.”
Despite the fact Dunlop is confident all three sides can make deep runs into the carnival, he has not lost sight of what week is really about.
“Our job is to identify talent and the ‘Diamond in the Bush’ program has helped out a lot with that,” Dunlop said.
“If they can perform well, they’ll put themselves in the best position to be asked to play (Bartercard) Premier Cricket.
“We want as many country boys as possible to be playing Premier Cricket.”
Image: Photo sourced from the Bendigo Advertiser.
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