By Tara Murray
The Sunbury Jets rising stars have again shown they are among the best in state, with the association among the best represented in Victoria’s under-18 teams announced this week.
Sunbury trio Alex Grey, Samuel Haslett and Sonny Maxwell have named the Vic Country under-18 team for the national championships in April.
Fellow Jets Christian Beecroft and Finn McGinty have been emergencies, meaning five of the top 17 players all come from the one club and one team. All five have come from the Macedon Ranges Basketball Association.
Jets senior men’s coach Nathan Heywood, who is also the Jets under-18 boys coach, said it was pretty exciting for the club and the boys.
“It’s really good for them and it’s really pleasing seeing all the hard work and determination,” he said.
“It’s really special. It’s not common to get one in the team but to get three in multiples with three in the team and two reserves is really good.”
The success of this group of boys is not a one off.
Maxwell and Haslett were in the under-18 team last year that won bronze, while Gray was named as an emergency.
McGinty was in the under-16 Victoria Country team in 2023, along with Grey and Maxwell.
All five are part of the Jets under-18.1 team that has already qualified for the Victoria Junior Basketball League VC division this year.
Heywood said they had unfinished business with many of them playing in this age group for the last time.
“They are a great bunch,” he said. “We’ve already qualified for the VC making us in the top 20 teams.
“We are aiming to nudge back into the top five and qualify for the classic and finish in the top three to qualify for the nationals in September.
Heywood said they would look to manage their workloads in the next few weeks ahead of the season. They’ll play a few practice matches ahead of the competition rounds getting underway.
The group is also starting to progress through into the senior ranks.
Maxwell was part of the championship side last season and is again part of the team. Haslett and Grey are development players this year.
“It’ll be a great step onto the court for them,” he said. “Their confidence will grow and they will get more development.”
