By JARROD POTTER
IT’S a whole new ball game at the next level as Dandenong Stingrays defender Brandon White has found out.
White, 18, from Berwick, earned his second chance to feature in the national championships and didn’t disappoint as he roamed the back-end in Vic Country’s 28-point win over South Australia.
Vic Country knocked off South Australia for the first time in nearly two decades and White was one of a plethora of Stingrays in the defensive end alongside team-mates Jacob Weitering, Tommy Glenn and Keiran Collins.
“Awesome win to be involved in,” White said.
“Getting my first kick out of the way was the main thing I reckon and just to get myself into the game.
“Playing with Collo and Weiters was good too, I played with them at under-16 Vic Country and through Stingrays since under-15s so felt a lot more comfortable playing alongside them two down there.
“The boys were so welcoming to have me in the side and I could play with them each week – I wouldn’t mind.”
After playing in Beaconsfield’s 2014 Casey Cardinia (now SEFL) premiership victory, White turned his attention completely to the TAC Cup and potentially returning to the Vic Country mix after playing in the under-16 national championships in 2013.
Despite promising early TAC Cup form, White’s first Vic Country attempt this year ended abruptly after injuring his wrist in a Vic Metro/Vic Country practice match.
“That stuffed me up a fair bit actually was disappointing to do it in that game at Skilled Stadium,” White said.
“All the parents and family members came to watch and played probably about five minutes and didn’t get a touch.
“Went up for a spoil and my legs came down and my knees came out from under me – I landed on my wrist and I was off for the rest of the game.”
White returned to Dandenong with a heavily bruised and bandaged wrist and slotted straight back in to the best afield list.
A superb performance against Northern Knights – accruing 23 kicks, nine handballs and 10 marks – could not be overlooked by the Vic Country selectors who brought the defender in for the round four clash against South Australia.
“I was pretty disappointed that I didn’t really get to prove myself so I went out there and knew that I had to do something special to earn my first game,” White said.
“Felt pretty good about myself – all the hard work paying off, especially after 16s.
“Once I got 16s out of the way I wanted to get back for 18s as they talk about that a lot.
“And it’s more important than the 16s – you can’t get drafted at 16s that’s for sure.”
He hopes to hold his spot in the final 25 for the last two Vic Country games, but if that’s not meant to be he’s keen to get on with the job at the Stingrays and feature in finals and maybe even greater glory from there.
“Vic Country has a bye this week so I’m probably just back at Stingrays this week and hopefully have a good game and get picked for the last two games – that’s the goal and we’ll see from there,” White said.
“Definitely want to play finals for the TAC Cup with the Dandenong Stingrays, we’ve got a good side so hopefully we’ll give it a red hot crack and win the premiership for the first time down there.”
Vic Country assistant coach Wayne Siekman said White’s performance was admirable and he was able to make a big impact in the championship clash against South Australia.
“Whitey’s first game and he beat his opponent more often than not and was really solid down back,” Siekman said. “He’s an aggressive player and rarely got beaten one on one and used the ball well when he had it in hand at half-back, back-pocket where he was playing.”
White should return to action with Dandenong this weekend when the Stingrays battle North Ballarat at home in a first-versus-second showdown.
