NAB League 2019: Sandringham Dragons name their list for the 2019 season
The Sandringham Dragons have unveiled a 75-player squad for the 2019 NAB League season — and officials say it’s strong, with father-son prospect Finn Maginness the summer stand-out.
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With improvement one of his key themes for the 2019 NAB League season, new Sandringham Dragons coach Josh Bourke is holding up Finn Maginness as the “poster boy’’ of his squad.
The son of Hawthorn premiership defender Scott is a top-age player and Bourke said the right-footer had been the summer stand-out.
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He expects it to translate into an excellent season for the father-son prospect.
Maginness has been named as a vice-captain of the Dragons, who kick off their campaign this Sunday against the Calder Cannons.
“He’s one of the kids we’re absolutely thrilled with, Finn,’’ Bourke said of Maginness.
“We’re talking about everyone improving — it’s a big focus this year — and where he’s come from at the start of the pre-season to where he’s at now is, it’s significant.
“It’s down to hard work. He’s been really aware of what he needs to get better at and he’s put in the time and effort.
“I’ve actually pointed out to quite a few kids, he’s a pretty good example of what happens when you do the work. You get better. He knew his kicking was an area for improvement, and his ball use on Sunday (in a practice match against Dandenong Stingrays) was really solid and he’s taken some question marks away from himself.’’
Maginness is 190cm, strong and will play in the midfield.
New Dragons talent identification manager Mark Wheeler, who, like Bourke, crossed from the Dandenong Stingrays at the end of last season, said Maginness was disappointed to miss out on an Academy placement and had used it as a spur.
“He took all the information that was given to him on why he didn’t get it, he came back with a full six-pack — he’s definitely got an AFL body — and he’s very professional in everything he does,’’ Wheeler said. “Every time he gets on the track he’s willing to push himself.’’
The Dragons have a string of players involved in the elite Academy programs — Fischer McAsey, Josh Worrell, Jack Bell, Jack Mahoney, Darcy Chirgwin, Andrew Courtney, Miles Bergman, Hugo Ralphsmith, Charlie Dean and Jake Bowey (bottom age) — and Bourke said the list “runs deep’’ and “we’ve got lots of kids in that draftable mix’’.
There is a St Kilda flavour to the squad, with the fathers of McAsey (Chris), Ralphsmith (Sean), Bowey (Brett), Jackson Voss (Brett), Tyson Milne (Steve) and development-lister Tom Grant (David) all former Saints.
Highett junior Bowey played well against the Stingrays.
He was late in getting going in the pre-season owing to glandular fever.
“He’s really got something,’’ Bourke said. “His kicking is pretty impressive … if his speed, energy and kicking are anything to go by, he might have something work looking at.’’
Wheeler described Bowey as “dynamic … brave, quick by hand and foot, and he’s got elite speed’’.
Ralphsmith, a wingman/forward, has a lot of admirers and Bourke said he was capable of being the club’s highest draft pick.
“He’s an eye-catching player … he can jump up and take a mark, run, have a few bounces,’’ he said.
McAsey, a tall defender with clamps for hands, is also highly regarded.
Bourke was an assistant coach at Dandenong Stingrays before landing at the Dragons to replace Jeremy Barnard.
It was a homecoming for him; he played for the club in the TAC Cup in 2002-03.
Coaching stints at his junior club, Cheltenham Panthers, the Beaumaris Under 19s and with the state Under 15 and Under 12 schoolboys led him to the Stingrays in 2013.
The Dandenong club broke through for its first TAC Cup premiership last year.
Bourke said team success in any Under 18 program brought more exposure for players and increased their chances of being drafted.
“Ultimately it comes down to what happens mid to late-November at the drafts,’’ he said.
“We sit here and hope we give as many kids the opportunity to do that and put the work into them to give them a chance to have their names called out. The correlation is that winning games will no doubt support that, as you’ve seen recently with Matt Cottrell and Sam Fletcher (from the Stingrays) going late (on to AFL lists). They (AFL clubs) have seen them play and they know they can play. So success supports the idea of getting more kids drafted.’’
Big man Riley Bowman was a Stingray overlooked for the drafts and has crossed to the Dragons as a 19-year-old player. He also trained at VFL club Box Hill Hawks.
Wheeler is keen for Bowman to play more as a forward this year rather than a ruckman.
Angus Hanrahan and Harry Loughan, from the Oakleigh Chargers, are also 19-year-olds.
Ryan Byrnes, a St Bede’s student, has been named as captain.
Wheeler said Byrnes was a “natural leader’’. Bourke called him a “very impressive young man’’.
“He’s had a faultless pre-season. Great kid. He’s an inside midfielder who can go forward with the ability to burst from stoppage and hurt the opposition,’’ Bourke said.
“We’re pretty excited about where he might get to.’’
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Oscar Lewis: “He’s a rower from Brighton Grammar. Made the choice last year as a bottom-ager that he was going to push his sport over to football. He popped a shoulder and basically rehabbed it all of last year. Does everything right, has really good power and speed, has been one of the stand-outs on the track as a bit of an unknown.’’
Jacquin Mifsud: “He’s going to be a St Kilda NGA Academy pick. He’s Jason’s boy and has good size and speed and against Oakleigh he kicked 3.4 and probably should have kicked six. He’s a natural forward.’’
2019 SANDRINGHAM DRAGONS LIST
1 Jack Mahony (St Kevins Old Boys/St Kevins College)
2 Darcy Chirgwin (St Marys FC/Melbourne Grammar)
3 George Grey (Beaumaris/St Bedes College)
4 Finn Maginness (East Brighton/Scotch College)
5 Ryan Byrnes (Beaumaris/St Bedes College)
6 Miles Bergman (Hampton Rovers/St Bedes College)
7 Jackson Voss (Beaumaris)
8 Tom Deane-Johns (De La Salle/De La Salle College)
9 Nick Burke (Beaumaris/Haileybury College)
10 Josh Le Grice (Old Brighton FC/Brighton Grammar)
11 Hugo Ralphsmith (Old Haileybury/Haileybury College)
12 Charlie Dean (Collegians/Wesley College)
13 Angus Hanrahan (St Kevins Old Boys)
14 Kyle Yorke (Beaumaris FC/St Bedes College)
15 Louis Butler (Old Brighton/Brighton Grammar)
16 Jacquin Mifsud (Beaumaris/Melbourne Grammar)
17 Tyson Milne (Parkdale Vultures/Cheltenham SC)
18 Joe Lloyd (De La Salle FC/De La Salle College)
19 Jeremy Goddard (Geelong Amateur/Melbourne Grammar)
20 Jackson Hannah (Beaumaris FC)
21 Tyson Murray (Parkdale Vultures)
22 Jackson Cowden (St Bedes Mentone FC)
23 Jai Florent (Old Mentonians/Mentone Grammar)
24 Charlie Langford (Eagle Hawk/Melbourne Grammar)
25 Jehtt Brazionis (Old Mentonians)
26 Jesse Castan (Old Scotch FC/Scotch College)
27 Nick Bufalo (De La Salle FC/De La Salle College)
28 Riley Bowman (Crib Point FNC)
29 Fischer McAsey (East Brighton/Caulfield Grammar)
30 Andrew Courtney (Beaumaris/St Bedes College)
31 Josh Worrell (Old Haileybury/Haileybury College)
32 Jack Bell (Old Haileybury)
33 Corey Watts (Beaumaris FC)
34 Luke Garnaut (Cheltenham FC/St Bedes College)
35 Lachlan Lamble (Beaumaris/St Bedes College)
36 Oscar Lewis (Old Brighton/Brighton Grammar)
37 Bill Mackay (Old Haileybury/Haileybury College)
38 Benji Krongold (AJAX FC/Bialik College)
39 Blake O’Leary (Parkdale/St Bedes College)
40 Riley Virtue (Beaumaris FC)
41 Mitch Tsiros (Parkdale Vultures/St Bedes College)
42 Luke Cleary (Beaumaris/Haileybury College)
43 Jake Bowey (Highett JFC/Cheltenham SC)
44 Lachlan Riley (Old Haileybury/Haileybury College)
45 Archie Perkins (Old Brighton FC/Brighton Grammar)
46 Fraser Rosman (Collegians/Wesley College)
47 Nicholas Grech (St Bedes Mentone FC/St Bedes College)
48 Will Stratford (Mordialloc-Braeside/St Bedes College)
49 Lachlan Carrigan (East Sandringham JFC/St Bedes College)
50 Tom Grant (East Sandringham JFC/Mentone Grammar)
51 Darby Hipwell (East Sandringham JFC/Brighton Grammar)
52 Tom McPhee (East Sandringham JFC/Haileybury College)
53 Eren Soylemez (South Melbourne/Albert Park College)
54 Paddy McPhee (East Sandringham JFC/Haileybury College)
55 Liam Hall (Beaumaris/Haileybury College)
56 Jacob Gray (East Sandringham/McKinnon SC)
57 Tom Blamires (East Sandringham JFC/Brighton Grammar)
58 Jacob Mackinnon (St Peters/De La Salle)
59 Ollie Lord (East Brighton JFC/Geelong Grammar)
60 Joe Nowell (Bentleigh JFC/McKinnon SC)
61 Max Heath (Beaumaris JFC/Xavier College)
62 Ryan Pietsch (East Malvern JFC/Caulfield Grammar)
63 Thomas Spencer (Beaumaris JFC/Mentone Grammar)
64 Max Holmes (Prahran JFC/Melbourne Grammar)
65 Joshua Duscher (East Sandringham JFC/St Bedes College)
66 Charlie McKay (Prahran JFC/Melbourne Grammar)
67 Brodie Tonkin (Lake Boga FC/Melbourne Grammar)
68 William Skinner (Mordialloc-Braeside/Mentone Grammar)
69 Liam Hayes (Beaumaris JFC/St Bedes College)
70 Jacob Edwards (Beaumaris JFC/Mentone Grammar)
71 Toby Sheezel (AJAX FC/Bialik College)
72 Chris Long (Prahran JFC/Melbourne Grammar)
73 Joshua Miller (St Bedes Mentone Tigers/St Bedes College)
75 Michael Lewis (Mordialloc-Braeside/St Bedes College)
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