VAFA Premier B-Division 3 Squad announced

Fifty players have been selected in the VAFA’s Big V Premier B-Division 3 Men’s squad ahead of the clash against the Bendigo Football League at Elsternwick Park on Saturday July 6.

As a former Victorian rep player, coach Luke Mahoney is delighted to get involved with the Big V again.

“It was a proud moment to get the call from (VAFA CEO) Jason Reddick at the start of the season,” said Mahoney.

“When he offered it to me, I was 100% keen to get involved. It’s really enjoyable to mix with players and coaches from other clubs and get to know more people in our VAFA community. It’s a great honour.”

Mahoney and his coaching panel have been closely scouting the Association across the first two months of the season and have come up with a squad packed with talent across all parts of the field.

“We’ve done a fair bit of work over the past four weeks and have been out and about watching a lot of games. There’s plenty of talent across the divisions so it’s been a mammoth task to pull this list together.”

Mahoney set the bar high and has been looking for players he feels can clear it.

“Our starting point is that this game will be the equivalent of a high-level Premier game. So we need to pick guys who can thrive in the equivalent of a Premier Final,” said Luke.

“We’ve tried to identify guys we feel can rise to play at that level. Some may be good contributors at their current level, but we suspect they might become even better at a higher level of speed and skill. Some players really thrive as the standard of game improves.

“I coached Fitzroy for 6 years so I have a good handle on some of the better players up & down the divisions. And everyone in our coaching group have also been recently involved in Ammo footy, so we started this selection process with a fair bit of inherent knowledge to build upon.”

Flexibility and versatility have been key in Mahoney’s decision-making.

“We’ve leant towards guys who can play more than one role. We can’t play 12 midfielders, so we need mids also capable of effectively playing forward or back. Ammos footy is traditionally quicker, so ‘fit and fast’ has been another key motto.”

Mahoney realises he also needs players capable of adapting on the day.

“You don’t know what you’re up against until you’re out there, although I do have one secret scout in Bendigo doing some great work for us. They’ve announced a squad of 60 and we’re expecting a pretty strong line-up from them.”

Given the net has been cast so wide, Mahoney’s focus will be on cohesion.

All sections are represented, with:

• 26 players from Premier B
• 12 from Premier C
• 5 from Division 1
• 4 from Division 2
• 3 from Division 3

“We’ve come up with 50 players from 29 clubs across 5 divisions!” he laughed. “So there won’t be time for teaching any big game plan. Our focus will be on how we all get to know each other’s games as quickly as possible. They are all talented players. It’s our job as coaches to blend them all together.”

Training begins with an indoor session on Wednesday, June 12.

VAFA PREMIER B-DIVISION 3 MEN’S SQUAD 2024

The VAFA Premier B-Division 3 squad will be trimmed in the lead-up to the match against Bendigo FL at Elsternwick Park on Saturday July 6 from 2pm.

The match will follow the VAFA Under 19 Showcase game at 11.40am and both matches will be streamed live at VAFA.com.au.