By Jonty Ralphsmith
Local boys Mitch Toner and Cody Templeton were selected to represent Vic Country in the Under-16 National Championships which got underway at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Saturday.
Toner comes from a famous Narre Warren family, playing a key hand in the club’s under-19 premiership win last season, in between school footy commitments for Caulfield Grammar.
A strongly built athlete with power suited to the modern game, Toner spent time forward throughout the carnival, averaging 12 disposals and taking some big grabs.
“We used him as a clearance beast last year,” said Narre Under-19 coach Mark Krystalyn.
“It worked well because of his height and bulk.
“We can play him up forward and his contested work is really good – he’s very good overhead and uses the ball well.
“He’s a really good communicator too for a young fella – he ticks all boxes.”
Meanwhile, Templeton is a star on the rise from Warragul Industrials, making his senior debut as a 15-year-old last season in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition.
He showed his tenacity in Vic Country’s first game, stepping through traffic at times and using the footy well in a strong ball-winning display.
He played mostly off halfback, but also went forward in the last game and helped turn the game around in the decider, averaging 14 disposals and four tackles.
“He’s a very special player,” said Warragul Industrials coach Michael Duncan.
“That’s not just what he does on Saturday, I watch him at training and his attitude towards training is at a different level compared to other footballers – senior and junior.
“He’s a bit lighter than most but we put him in the midfield, no worries about doing that at all.
“He’s got class; his ability to look inboard and find a target, and hit it, that a lot of players can’t do is really exciting.
“He can go in and get it or win it on the outside; he’s good by foot, he’s dangerous around goals, he works hard.”
Having played alongside Gold Coast AFL-listed Ben Ainsworth when he was a junior, the Dusties mentor sees parallels in the way they go about it.
“At his age, he’s a complete footballer; I haven’t seen a footballer as good as him at his age since I coached Ben Ainsworth,” he said.
“They’re similar in the way they’re fearless, so clean with the footy, hard-working and trained at a different standard to everyone else.”
