Trio swans into state squad

From left: Casey-South Melbourne head coach John Hayes believes Luke Chapple, Reuben Wakefield and Clive Rose will play major roles in the club’s future.

By Marc McGowan
THE emerging talent at Casey-South Melbourne Cricket Club has been recognised with three players being selected in the Victorian under-19 squad.
Australian under-19 representative and left-arm orthodox spinner Clive Rose, 17, has been joined in the 34-player Victorian side by up-and-coming batsmen Reuben Wakefield, 17, and Luke Chapple, 18.
Endeavour Hills fast bowling sensation James Pattinson headlines five Dandenong Cricket Club selections in the same team.
The trio of Swans have been earmarked by new Casey-South Melbourne head coach John Hayes as pivotal tools in the future of the club.
All three players were in attendance at the Swans’ invite-only session with Leading Teams programs manager James Begley last month, which aimed to develop good habits that would put the club on track for success.
Hayes has high hopes for Rose, Wakefield and Chapple and expects them to become established first XI players in the next few years.
“We are looking to build the club from the ground up with our young players and we have a lot of talent coming through,” he said.
“In five years’ time, or probably even three years’ time, I quite expect these young guys to be really kicking on.”
While Rose is a household name in Australian junior cricketing ranks, Wakefield and Chapple are well on their way to establishing quality reputations as well.
Wakefield, who is a Haileybury College scholarship holder, is already a member of the Cricket Victoria High Performance Academy, and Chapple was named player of the carnival at the under-18 Commonwealth Bank Cup in January.
They look to be the best of a promising batch of young players at Casey-South Melbourne, with recruits Darcy Thorp, Travis and Brad Welsh and Ben Channing other long-term projects.
“They’re our future. We want to make sure Hanno (captain Michael Hansen) has a good, strong first XI, but the fact is you can’t look at just one year, you have to look to the next five years,” Hayes said.
“It would be short-sighted to base everything on where we’re at right now.
“We want to win games this season – don’t worry about that – but we’re pretty excited about what the future holds.
“We have a bunch of good country boys and this is the best development squad we’ve had in my time here.”