SWAN Hill’s Wilhem Bennett and Tyntynder’s Patrick Blake are about to embark on the next step in their footballing journeys, selected to represent Victoria Country at this year’s under-16 AFL National Development Championships.
The St Mary Mackillop College Year 10 students won’t have to wait long to pull on the jumper either.
Their opening game will be played against Victoria Metro at Ikon Park next Saturday – the same day their local clubs Swan Hill and Tyntynder will do battle.
Both Bennett and Blake were selected following impressive performances in the recent Victoria Country trial games, on top of impressive displays for the Bendigo Pioneers under-16 side in the first half of the season.
Pioneers coach Danny O’Bree was full of praise for the pair, with their selection due recognition for months of hard work and dedication.
“They’ve both come along in leaps and bounds, and that’s all down to the work that they’ve both put in to this point,” O’Bree said.
“They’ve been training with the Pioneers under-18s for the last couple of months as well.
“We’ve been trying to work on their craft with the positions they’ll be playing in the Vic Country team and I think that has also helped their development.
“It’s pretty exciting to have a couple of local kids in our area getting recognition. Hopefully they get an opportunity now and really take it.
“They’ve performed really well in our under-16 Pioneers games and they’ve also done really well in their Vic Country games, not just with their testing, but also their match simulation work as well – all credit has to go to the boys.”
O’Bree said Bennett will most likely play in defence for Victoria Country, while Blake will get his opportunity in the midfield and as a small forward.
But Bennett and Blake’s real strength is their ability to play multiple roles – and play them well – with O’Bree crediting their home clubs for not only helping improve their standard of play, but also putting their development as footballers first.
“It’s a massive credit to both the boys and their local coaches, and our coaching group also, to keep putting their development first and playing them in different positions, instead of putting them in spots where you think they might win you a game,” O’Bree said.
“If more clubs would do it, there might be a few more kids that would get opportunities potentially at this level.
“Both boys have done a tremendous job to make it this far and they’re both growing in confidence really quickly and it’s very exciting to watch.”
