Wodonga Raiders have recently had one of the youngest lists the league has ever seen.
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And with the profile players coming in during that time (think Collingwood premiership defender Ben Reid at Wangaratta and VFL guns Willie Wheeler and Leigh Masters at Yarrawonga, to name a few) it meant the youthful outfit couldn't keep pace.
Former Adelaide and Brisbane player Cam Ellis-Yolmen showed what an older gun can do last year and by recruiting another former AFL player in Sam Darley and ex-VFL big man Darrean Wyatt, the club is restoring that balance between the young and the old, although with only the two wins last year, Raiders still need at least six more to be a finals contender.
ARRIVALS:
Sam Darley (Tiwi Bombers), Darrean Wyatt (Port Melbourne Colts), Seb Quirk (Frankston VFL), Mitch Way (Murray Bushrangers), Lochie Simpson (North Albury), Zac Sartore (Wangaratta Rovers), Jaxon and Blake Ryan (Leeton Whitton), Baxter Wilson (Mitta United), Brock Murray, Jackson Casey, Justin Gordon (year off)
DEPARTURES:
Hayden Clarke (Altona), Alex Daly (Kiewa-Sandy Creek), Sam McKenzie (Yackandandah), Shane Munro (Mitta United), Will Donaghey (Shepparton)
VFL-LISTED:
Seb Quirk (Frankston), Ned Conway (North Melbourne)
BEST AND FAIREST:
Cam Ellis-Yolmen (winner), Ned Conway, Hayden Clarke
OUR SAY:
Raiders haven't had the name players to make a recent impact, but any team with Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Sam Darley, Tom Bracher and Darrean Wyatt, plus Ned Conway and Seb Quirk on VFL lists, should be aiming for six wins. Raiders host Lavington in the first game and that is a game they will be banking on.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM RISING STAR WINNER NELSON BOWEY?
Some youngsters are naturally gifted, but don't put in the hard work. Bowey doesn't have that problem. He's trending the right way for another bumper season. He has a stack of attributes, with his lateral movement terrific and he's strong through the hips, so can weave out of trouble. Raiders have a number of promising youngsters and Bowey is leading the way.
RAIDERS HAVE A LOT OF TEENS, BUT IS THERE A PLAYER IN HIS 20s WHO CAN STEP UP?
Nick Bracher. He is a club junior, but had a few years off playing cricket. He returned to footy at Chiltern in 2021 before lobbing back at Raiders last year. He went too hard in an effort to make an impression at his new club and suffered an injury, but showed what he's capable of against Yarrawonga in round 13. He kicked three goals, a series of behinds and two out of bounds on the full, so while he would naturally be disappointed with the misses, any player who can get almost double-figure shots on goal against the premiers can make an impact against anyone and he backed it up with a tremendous finish to the home and away season.
HOW WILL THOSE COUPLE OF EXPERIENCED RECRUITS HELP BEST AND FAIREST CAM ELLIS-YOLMEN?
Coach Marc Almond will be salivating at the prospect of the midfield powerhouse having other players to take the heat off the big man. The O and M simply doesn't have a midfielder like Ellis-Yolmen. While Nick Bracher was dangerous in that round 13 loss to Yarrawonga, his team-mate was unstoppable. When Pigeons' captain Leigh Masters, who's certainly not prone to big statements, said "no one could get near him", you know you have just witnessed something special.
Q&A WITH BRACHER BROTHERS - NICK AND TOM
TOM
Q: Have you given up on your VFL dream?
A: Definitely not, I still want to play as high a level as I can. I met with Richmond after last year and wasn't offered a contract. It's just time to take a step back because if you count the Bushies (junior rep side Murray Bushrangers) and then the two years in the VFL, I've done some high level work for nearly five years. I thought it was a perfect time to have a little rest and I've never played a full season in the O and M either.
Q: Why do you think Richmond didn't re-sign you?
A: There were a few reasons, I didn't really train through the second half of the year due to some injuries, I was training once a week, a light session, to try and get up to play at Raiders, so my body not holding up was one of the reasons. Maybe a little bit wasn't buying into everything, my footy stuff is always good, but the buying into learning, really investing a lot more and that's one of the things I will try and bring back to Raiders.
Q: So there's much more to state level footy than just footy?
A: There's definitely a lot more to it than around here. You have the training sessions, the gym work, you have to recover well, you're probably in at the club four to five times a week, even as a VFL player, so you have to balance that with work and other interests so it's pretty tough, there's a lot of meetings, the VFL is coached to the nth degree.
Q: You just said you've never played a full season at Raiders, you must be excited?
A: I'm absolutely pumped. There's 19-year-olds at Raiders who have now played more senior matches than I have, which sounds a bit weird as I've been around a while (Tom is 22). We've got a young list, but a lot of blokes have improved out of sight over the pre-season and I'd be expecting to make some inroads.
Q: Nick was a surprise packet with his storming finish to the year.
A: Yeah, he flew under the radar, but we had the same injuries (adductor) last year, he missed a month of footy, so he couldn't do a heap, but once he recovered and was able to do some work, he came back strong and fit, and I wasn't really surprised by the footy he played, but some on the outside might have.
NICK
Q: How highly do you rate Tom?
A: I rate him pretty highly, but I don't want to pump his tyres up too much, he's getting a big head at the moment (laughs).
Q: You have been trying to put on size, what's an average eating day?
A: I try and eat a lot of protein. My go-to is Weetbix, I'll have six to eight Weetbix a day, on top of what I would normally eat. Breakfast is a smoothie, smoko is a protein drink, yoghurt and some banana bread. Then I'll have some chicken, broccoli and pasta sauce for lunch, with spaghetti or chicken schnitzel for tea. With pre-season training, you are always burning through a lot of calories, so you've just got to eat and eat.
Q: What issues did you have getting the body right last year?
A: Early on I struggled, I was too eager to impress and pushed myself too hard as I wanted to prove myself. After a third of the season, my groins were cooked and I barely trained. I had a rest, got on a program and built my body back up and when I came back, I felt like a different player, I had more power and could jump and felt more free in my movements.
Q: I take it that was behind your best games being the last handful?
A: I had the belief, if I could get my body right, I could string some good games together.
PREDICTION: Seventh
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