Top finish for young stars

By Marc McGowan
CRANBOURNE is still in party mode after a success-packed week in the Dandenong and District Junior Football League.
Under-11 Eagles’ pair Shannon Marsh (Division One) and Bailey Buntine (Red Division) won their respective league best-and-fairest awards, while three more teams reached grand finals.
Ashley Powell, who plays for Cranbourne’s under-13 Red Division side, finished third in his age group’s vote count.
Seven Eagles’ teams in total will vie for premiership glory this weekend.
Hampton Park and Tooradin junior football clubs also enjoyed success at the league’s under-10 to under-13 awards night.
Redbacks Wyatt Hansen (under-13 Blue Division) and Randy Francis (under-10 Red) finished third in their vote counts, while Tooradin’s Rohan Simpson claimed the under-10 Red Division’s top gong.
Hampton Park boasts three grand final representatives.
The Redbacks meet Cranbourne in back-to-back matches at Narre Warren South’s Strathaird Reserve from 11am in the under-10 Red and Under-11 Red divisions.
Meanwhile, Berwick won the Youth Girls grand final over Noble Park at Casey Fields on Saturday.
The Wickers lost last year’s decider to Hallam after kicking 1.11 and having won every other match throughout the season.
But there were no such accuracy issues this time around, with Berwick kicking truly on seven of its nine scoring shots.
Coach Cherie Charles was delighted with her team’s success.
“It’s very exciting, but it’s funny because last year I had a fantastic team, whereas this year we had only seven girls who had played football before,” she said.
“I think that’s made the win a bit sweeter.”
Ellie Blackburn won the best-on-ground medal and Tess Butler, Madison Grace Brownrigg and Mikaela Pancutt were also among the Wickers’ best.
Katie Turner kicked two majors.