Last season our Junior section finished on a high, winning some high-profile premierships, namely the U17 Div 1 Boys, the U16 Div 1 Boys and the U18 Girls. The captains of those three teams were Charlie Bruce, Ted Clayton and Ash Van Rooyen.
Last Saturday those 3 players were showing their skills and crafts in the Senior section of the club, Ted Clayton in the U19 Div 1s, Ash Van Rooyen in the Womens team and Charlie Bruce making his debut in the Seniors.
The fact that these 3 players are making an impact at the Senior level is no surprise to most. Their development through our Juniors has been significant.
Looking at the three players:
Ash is a dynamic athletic running winger/half back. She’s possesses great speed and has a strong kick. The ball seems to find her quite easily and she uses the ball intelligently and with time. She has played 67 games for the club and last year was B&F in the U18s Grand Final. She started at the BFC in 2017 in the U14s and at only 18 years of age, has the world at her feet from a football perspective.
It seems like Charlie has been around a long time and despite having just turned 18, has already played 129 games for the club, starting in 2013 in the U9s. Charlie leads by example, his contested ball work is exceptional and is an elite inside player who can virtually play any position. He can defend, has great balance and is a beautiful left foot.
Watching Ted Clayton is like looking at the world in slow motion, he does the hard stuff effortlessly. He is difficult to tackle and his burst out of contest is dynamic. He has explosive speed off the mark and once clear is such a smooth mover that he rarely gets tackled. Ted has great hands and reads the play like a veteran. Ted started with the club in 2014 in the U8s and has played 101 games for the club. Ted turned 17 in February.
To put some perspective on the talent coming out of our Juniors, Club president Nick Heath summed it up, “It’s a testimony to our great Juniors program that we are able to showcase such great talent in our Seniors. Charlie, Ash and Ted are wonderful examples of juniors who have taken the next level with such assurance and composure."
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Go Sharks!
