Heath Scotland coaches his son Riley in senior debut at Bundoora

At just 16, Carlton father-son prospect Riley Scotland made his senior football debut for Bundoora on Saturday with proud dad and coach Heath on the sidelines.

Bundoora's debutants from the opening two rounds.

While Bundoora couldn’t secure a win, Saturday was a special moment for coach Heath Scotland and son, Riley.

At just 16, young Scotland made his senior football debut in the Bulls’ 13-point loss to North Heidelberg at Shelley Park.

The Carlton Academy father-son prospect didn’t look out of place either, kicking a late goal to keep his club’s hopes alive.

Scotland is one of seven Bundoora debutants in the opening fortnight of the NFNL Division 1 season.

Having started the year in the under-19s, he has made a rapid rise after coming across from junior club Maribyrnong Park, where he played under-16s last year.

Heath Scotland and son Riley, 3, during his time at Carlton.

Proud dad, Heath said it was a sign of his off-season development.

“It was an exciting opportunity for him and everyone remembers their first senior game,” Scotland senior said.

“He came across, he’s 16 – not 17 until the middle of September – and continued to develop, obviously working closely with myself and our coaching staff.

“Secondly, working with your son is great, although I’m not sure how much he likes working for his dad or playing for his dad.

“It’s a big couple of years for him, he’s got aspirations to take his football higher, and the first step is getting involved in senior football and making sure you can handle the level and he held himself well.

“I know he was really thrilled and the boys were great supporting him.”

It was also a unique experience for Heath in his 26-odd years of senior football.

He tried to keep the day as normal as possible for coach and player.

Lukas Koutoufides, Charlie Beaumont & Harry Dean, Riley Scotland, Cody Walker.

Generations.

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“It was challenging to be honest because I want to make sure I’m coaching him as another player,” Scotland said.

“I was pretty clear on that, so it wasn’t really father-son to him, but I spoke to him yesterday about his performance and how proud I was of him for earning a game.

“I know, even for myself many years ago, guys coming through at that age, if they’re capable, to give them exposure to senior footy really expedites their development.

“He’s got to earn his spot but certainly the experience will be good for him in the next 12 months.

“He’s a different player to me, he’s 6’3 and more of a lead-up marking forward, whereas I was a small half-back-midfielder.

“He’s got size on his side and he held himself quite well, so hopefully he can maintain that, but he’s certainly not going to be gifted games.”

It’s been a difficult start to the season for Bundoora, going down to Eltham by a point in a Round 1 heart-breaker.

The Bulls led North Heidelberg at every change until being overrun in the fourth term on Saturday.

Zane Barker was named best afield, while Liam Kolar, Joel Harris and Jesse King (three goals) also stood tall.

Scotland said the results were tough to swallow but he couldn’t fault the players commitment to the gameplan.

“I won’t lie, I’m extremely disappointed in the results, but when I think about the brand of footy we’re playing in both games – I don’t want to say it arrogantly but I think we should have won both games,” he said.

“Probably but for a little bit of inexperience at the wrong or right times, some errors on our behalf have cost us both games.

“I thought we did enough in the Eltham game, then let them get a lead but nearly clawed it back and almost stole it at the end.

“On the weekend, I thought we dominated North Heidelberg in the first half, we were 21 points up and were really wasteful in a 10-minute period in the second quarter, then we allowed three red-time goals, which brought the margin back to a goal.

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“It was an arm-wrestle in the third and then they made the most of their opportunities in the last.

“From our perspective, there’s a lot to like about the football we’re playing but we haven’t got the results, which is chalk and cheese from last year.”

Following the Easter break Bundoora will look to open its account when it hosts West Preston-Lakeside.

Tom Rivis was North Heidelberg’s best in the win, while Jesse Tardio, Braidyn Hirt, Liam Barber, Hamish Murphy and Jordan Smith also impressed.