Tara Murray
Sunbury is hoping to provide an opportunity for under-18 cricketers from across Sunbury and the Macedon Ranges.
The Roar is entering a team in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association under-18 competition this season, following the completion of their new turf wicket.
With a number of players already committing, president Brendan Doyle said they wanted to provide somewhere for cricketers who weren’t quite ready for senior cricket to continue to develop.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” he said. “It was something that we first spoke about when we decided to go to turf.
“We want to give somewhere for juniors that have no other avenue but to go into senior cricket.
“Some players can adapt, while some do not. This is a platform to play on turf and play in your own age and into metro Melbourne.
“It’s too good an opportunity not to have something in place.”
Doyle said many young cricketers in the area were leaving to play at places like Greenvale and Essendon at young ages, due to not having turf options in the area.
He said they had a core group of four or five players from within the club in that age group. He said there had been some other interest.
“We want to encourage other local boys and local clubs to get involved,” he said.
“We want to be a place for the best talent in the area, like a representative side.”
Doyle said with games played on Sundays, players can still play juniors or senior cricket with their local clubs and then play in the Roar’s under-18 team.
He said only a game permit was needed for them to play at the Roar and the players would do most of their training with the local clubs.
“We want to have a squad of 15 to 16 players.”
Doyle said they believed that they could be competitive and were still unsure what division they would play in.
New senior coach Jace Carton has had a first hand look at the competition, having set up the Greenvale Kangaroos under-18 team.
“We’ll look to assess the talent pool,” Doyle said. “We know there’s some really good local talent approached by metro clubs to play on turf.”
The Roar have already locked in a coach, with star all-rounder Jason McGann taking on the role.
Doyle said they were thrilled that McGann had put his hand up
“He coached our under-17s a couple of years ago,” he said. “Some have played with Jason and the rapport he has with them.
“His knowledge and his ability is really good. He relates to the kids.”
Details: Jason: 0401 677 145, Brendan: 0426 244 187, Jace: 0414 292 228
