EFNL 2021: Emerging talent, new names boost Silvan to victory

A bevy of under-19 premiership names helped get it done for Silvan in Division 4’s return, among new recruits making their mark.

Silvan’s 19s celebrate their 2019 flag win.

A youthful Silvan side took the park on Saturday as it outlasted Forest Hill in Division 4 footy’s return to the east.

Up to seven names from the Cats’ under-19 premiership winning side from 2019 were on show as they pulled away from the Zebras in the second half to run out 14.17 (101) to 12.12 (84) winners.

The two clubs met in the underage decider 18 months ago, with Cats co-captain Matteo D’Alfonso again leading the charge.

Fellow ‘19s premiership name Lachie Lynch slotted into a new-look, dangerous forward line, finishing with three majors after booting 30 in the flag-winning season.

Meanwhile, recruit Jaydan Bishop kicked four in his first outing after crossing from Mooroolbark, with the duo forming a formidable support act to 2019 leading goalkicker Leigh Kimpton who fired with five majors to his name.

Kimpton booted five in his side’s Round 1 victory.

“We added a bit of depth to our forward line to take a bit of the pressure off ‘Kimpo’, but he still managed to take a lot of the workload and kick five which is great,” senior coach Trent Martin said.

“Lachie Lynch was unbelievable – Forest Hill got away to a great start and I think he kicked three in about five minutes to get us back into it.

“We knew they (Forest Hill) had a good under-19s team that we played in the grand final two years ago and a lot of those kids were on display.”

Martin touted co-captain Jarryd Dietzel as “huge” for the Cats as he finished among the best, while tall defender Ben Riley made a strong return also featuring in the best after a lengthy stint on the sidelines due to back-to-back knee reconstructions and the 2020 lay-off.

Martin, who usually plays down back, said Riley was “sensational” in his return, as the playing-coach looks to make a move into attack this season as a “decoy” for the young gun’s benefit in defence.

“I’m more than happy to see kids like that take my spot (in defence) if I can be a bit-part up forward,” he said.

“I’m not out to win best and fairests anymore, out to win a flag which I’ve never done and if I can do that up forward, I’m happy to do that.”

New Zebra Mitch Hanegraaf kicked two in his first showing for the club after crossing from Knox, while Elijah Dale also booted two as the pair finished among the best for their side.

Martin said match fitness came to the fore in the second half after the Cats took in a 10-point lead at the main break, before holding at 19-point advantage at the final change.

“You can’t replicate match fitness, that’s for sure and I think that was pretty evident towards the end of the game – we were both dead on our feet,” he said.

“We couldn’t break away from them and they couldn’t break away from us. It was a tough first game, and we wanted to play a good team first up and they didn’t let us down.”