EDFL 2021: Greenvale secures key recruits for Premier Division season

New Greenvale coach Darren Bewick gives his assessment of the EDFL club’s new faces and reveals one star player could return in 2021.

Dual AFL premiership player Darren Bewick will lead Greenvale this season. Picture: Steve Tanner

Greenvale is poised to unleash star recruit Tyson Young in the midfield this season as the Essendon District Football League club looks to atone for a rare finals miss in 2019.

First-year coach Darren Bewick said Young had been thrown into the middle in match simulation but would also be a valuable marking target for the Premier Division outfit.

Young, who is best friends with Bewick’s son Jett, has been one of the leading players in Division 1 for Airport West and was crowned the Hutchison medallist for the competition’s best-and-fairest player in 2017.

He booted 103 goals – 47 in 2017 and 56 in 2018 – across two outstanding seasons in the second tier and was one of the Eagles’ standout performers in Premier Division in 2019.

While most suburban footballers had a season off in 2020, Young took the field for Port Douglas and helped it secure a fifth consecutive flag in the AFL Cairns competition.

Tyson Young during his days at Airport West.

“He’s a big body, and that’s something we set out to try and get, and Tyson was available,” Bewick said.

“I’ve known Tyson for a long time, he’s been friends of the family and my son for a while.

“I’ve seen him play a lot and I just thought the challenge of him coming back up to Premier Division would really suit him at the age that he is and to get out of the comfort zone a little bit.

“He’s been terrific, had a fantastic pre-season and comes into the season in really good nick. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do and what he can offer the team.”

The Jets have also gained VFL prospect Wade Derksen, who signed with Sunbury Lions for 2020.

The teenager from the Northern Territory has been training with Essendon in the hope of winning a state league contract.

“He’s a lively player, can play a variety of positions – key forward, wing, ruck, on ball,” Bewick said.

“He’s very athletic and moves really well.

“We’re excited to get Wade. He’s been really eager and keen to learn … and fitted in well with the group. We welcome him with open arms.”

Gun midfielder Josh Smith could be back in Greenvale colours in 2021 after crossing to Heidelberg.

Smith was runner-up in the club’s best-and-fairest two years ago and finished fourth in 2018.

Josh Smith is a chance to return to Greenvale. Picture: Josie Hayden

“We’d love to have him,” Bewick said.

“There might be some interstate work he’s going for, but there’s every indication if it doesn’t occur that he’ll play for us in 2021.”

Adam Meiorin, who booted 57 goals for Greenvale’s reserves side in 2018 before kicking 18 from eight matches for Oak Park’s seniors the following year, is also set to return.

The Jets will also regain tireless midfield workhorse Fort Caruso, who was limited to eight games in 2019 because of a knee reconstruction.

“He’s going to be a great recruit for us,” Bewick said of Caruso.

“He’s done most of training, looks in really good shape and from the things I’ve seen from him on the track and in the drills we do, he’s all class. He uses the ball really well.

“If he can find his best form too, we’re in a pretty good place.”

On the negative side, skipper Addam Maric could face a lengthy stint on the sidelines after suffering a should injury at training earlier this month.

Key defender Tom Cleary and former Western Bulldogs rookie Rowan Nayna have departed.

But the Jets boast no shortage of prime movers, with Addam Maric, Nick Maric, Courtenay Dempsey, Nat Caruso, Fort Causo, Jacob Thompson, Sam Zumbo and Fabian Deluca among the EDFL’s leading players.

They finished fifth in 2019 with a 10-8 record, but Bewick sees no reason why his team can’t contend for the ultimate prize.

“We’re going to set the bar pretty high and challenge the boys to meet that every week,” he said.

“I’ve really enjoyed the first couple of months I’ve had at the club. It’s a well-run club, the boys are a very tight-knit group and they have worked really hard since I’ve had them.

“There’s no substitutes for the games … but they’re giving me every indication they’re keen and have really taken on board things I’m trying to introduce to them.”

Greenvale will face rival Aberfeldie in a blockbuster Round 1 clash on April 10.

GREENVALE SWEATING ON MARIC’S INJURY BLOW

Greenvale’s star skipper Addam Maric is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines after sustaining a suspected serious shoulder injury at training.

Maric appears certain to miss his side’s blockbuster Essendon District Football League Premier Division season opener against Aberfeldie on April 10 and the Jets have conceded he could be out for the bulk of the season in what would be a hammer blow to their flag hopes.

The gun midfielder/forward was taking part in match simulation last week when he went down.

Addam Maric on the burst for Greenvale. Picture: Mark Dadswell

First-year Greenvale coach Darren Bewick said Maric had an appointment with a surgeon this week to gain a “second opinion to see what different courses we can take”.

“We’re just waiting to see what the outcome is. It didn’t look too good, which is unfortunate for him because he was actually flying on the track in the short time I’ve been there,” Bewick told Leader Local Footy.

“He’s a terrific leader of the place and really knows the game, really invested in the club and we’re just hopeful the news isn’t that bad.

“But it doesn’t look great at the moment.

“We’ll find out a little bit more in a week or two.”

Asked if the injury could keep Maric out for longer than the opening rounds of campaign, Bewick said: “If it’s short-term, I’d be very excited, because I’m not sure if it’s going to be short-term.”

Maric, who played 31 AFL games, has endured a horror injury run in recent years but is one of the EDFL’s elite talents.

He delivered one of the best individual seasons in EDFL history in 2017, bagging an incredible 71 goals from 21 games as a midfielder, including two hauls of nine majors.

Maric finished third in the Reynolds Medal that year, won his club’s best-and-fairest and was named the rover in the Team of the Year.

But the 30-year-old damaged his hamstring in the decider against Aberfeldie that season and was beset by groin issues and osteitis pubis during 2018, limiting him to nine senior games.

He managed 16 games in 2019 but struggled to recapture top form.

“The way he was going about things … he was giving every indication he was back to that (2017) form,” said Bewick, who took over as Greenvale coach in October.

“The injury hasn’t come at a great time unfortunately.

“We’re fingers crossed that it’s not long-term, but I’m hesitant to say it’s not going to be.”

The Jets have signed EDFL best-and-fairest winner Tyson Young and VFL prospect Wade Derksen for the coming season, while 2020 recruits James Rohan and Dean Smith have recommitted.

Key defender Tom Cleary and ex-Western Bulldogs rookie Rowan Nayna have exited.