Day of destiny for junior footballers

It’s all come down to this – after months of preseason, home and away matches, and cutthroat postseason matches, grand final day is here for the region’s junior footballers. The Wangaratta and District Junior Football League grand finals will be played this Sunday 6 September on the pristine turf at the Wangaratta Showgrounds, with three games slated to decide who really rules the league in the under 12, under 14, and under 17 grades. The action kicks off from 9am with the under 12 decider between Myrtleford and Benalla Black, before spectators are treated to an Alpine derby in the under 14 grand final between Myrtleford and Bright from 10.50am. The last, and likely biggest, match of the day is the under 17s grand final, which will pit the Kangaroos against College from 12.50pm. The two Wangaratta clubs have dominated the top age group throughout the year, finishing in the top two on the ladder after the 16 round home and away season, with College crowned minor premiers. Kangaroos got the better of the Blues when they met in the qualifying final by a narrow 6.9 (45) to 5.11 (41), but College will be brimming with confidence after their 40-point preliminary final win over Tigers. Both sides are packed with talent, with the Roos boasting league leading goalkicker Alasdair Brett, while College will be fielding best first year player and U17 best and fairest winner Charlie O’Brien. College under 17 coach Matt Dillon said it would be a challenge, but one his team was up for. “We’re quietly confident, they’ve had an outstanding season,” he said. “There’s been a lot of growth in different ways. “If we look at our younger players who came into the team this year, first year players, a lot of them really progressed well throughout the year in terms of their football development, skills-wise as well as their understanding of the game. “It’s very exciting for the team because they’ve worked really hard all year around their training and preparations, and I’m glad they’ve got the opportunity.” Standing in College’s way is a red-hot Kangaroos outfit, who will be looking to claim back-to-back flags in the top age junior competition. Kangaroos vice-president and 2026 volunteer of the year Blair Downing said to make consecutive grand finals in the tricky under 17 age group was a testament to the coaches and the players. “Our role in junior league is about development, so at under 17s, you have kids in and out of O&M and O&K, permitting in and out, so it’s a bit of a juggle for our coaches,” he said. “Our 17s in the junior league is a really unique thing, it’s probably one of the only three-year tiered league which runs, so you get kids coming in at 15-17, so the bottom age kids really have to adapt because they’re playing against kids who are two years older than them “It’s great reward for our coaches and our players, it should be a great game.” The WDJFL grand finals kick off from 9am on Sunday 6 September at the Wangaratta Showgrounds.

Day of destiny for junior footballers

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