EDFL: Johnson twins, Logan and Mitchell, debut for Rupertswood

A set of Rupertswood twins, with one kicking four goals, have announced themselves to the EDFL while a gun midfielder is in league medal contention according to his coach.

No you’re not seeing double.

Rupertswood has two young guns who have shown they’re players for the future.

Twins Logan and Mitch Johnson were given their senior debuts on Saturday as the Sharks secured a 14.21 (105) to 13.6 (84) EDFL Division 1 win over Hillside.

Mitch was one of the stars of the shows as he finished with four majors as Logan also found his way onto the scoreboard with one goal.

Both are part of the Calder Cannons program in 2022 and seamlessly fitted into a Rupertswood side which finds itself 3-1 after the first four rounds.

It gave the past players celebrating their 2000 and 2002 VAFA premierships a glimpse into the club’s future.

Coach Arron Bray said it was a privilege to be involved in a “special day” for his club.

“With Calder not playing on the weekend, we thought it would be a great opportunity to expose the boys to some senior footy,” he said.

“We thought it would be better for their development then playing an under 18s game.

“They came in and played their role so we couldn’t have asked much more from them.”

Logan Johnson, Mitchell Johnson and Fraser Phelan-Smith are all Rupertswood Calder representatives. Photo: Facebook.

Meanwhile, Jackson Cardillo continued his stunning start to the season with three goals in a best on ground display.

His performance was even more important with the Sharks missing key figures including Ben Said, who has established himself as one of the must watch players in the competition.

“If we were counting votes for the league medal I think he (Cardillo) would be right up there,” Bray said.

“He’s a midfielder who kicks goals (he has five in his last two matches) which makes him a really dangerous player for opposition defenders.”

Former Calder Cannon Jackson Cardillo has been in fantastic form for Rupertswood. Photo: Michael Klein.

Luke Cannon, Brent Swallow, Jakeb Coles and Jacob Chahine were also impressive in the come from behind win.

Rupertswood slammed on 7.10 to 3.4 in the second half to run away from the contest.

Now Bray admits he faces some headaches at the selection table.

“It’s always a good problem to have but it’s not fun telling someone they’re not playing,” he said.

“Our depth is building but it’s still very young and that’s why we went out and recruited some more senior players in the off-season.

“We want to find things in these kids which helps build them into long-term senior players for our club.”

For Hillside, Carlo Riccardi finished with four majors to be one of the better players on the ground in a losing effort.

Jaksyn Grant, Zak Wunhym, Jeremy Hayes, Luke Sammut and Lucas Failli also won praise from the coach.

Rupertswood will now face a huge test against Tullamarine as Hillside aims to bounce back against Craigieburn.