Confidence levels continue to rise at the Bendigo Pioneers after the club impressed in Sunday’s trial games against the Greater Western Victoria Rebels.
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The Pioneers won all four practice matches at Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve against the Rebels – two under-18 matches, one under-16 boys game and the under-18 girls contest.
“We weren’t worried about the scoreline in any of the games, but at the end of the day it is a good sign of how competitive the players are,’’ Pioneers coach Rick Coburn said.
“In the first under-18 game we won by about three goals and the in the second under-18 game we had a solid win.
“We’re really happy with the amount of depth we have and the good thing is that we have a range of players who can play in multiple positions.
“We have an even spread of height and, in particular, we have a strong group of midfielders.”
That depth is going to make it harder for Coburn and his coaching staff to trim the Pioneers training squad over the next fortnight.
“It’s going to be really difficult for us,’’ Coburn admitted.
“We’ll make a few cuts to our squad over the next few weeks before we get down to the 55-60 mark ahead of the AFL testing session on March 11.”
The highlight of the second under-18 trial game was the performance of highly-rated key forward Jarrod Brander.
Widely-tipped to be a top five selection in this year’s AFL national draft, Brander kicked five goals.
The Mildura product will play limited games with the Pioneers in the home and away season because of his schooling commitments at Geelong Grammar.
The Pioneers’ under-16 team scored a narrow win over the Greater Western Rebels, while the new-look under-18 girls rounded out their preparation for the TAC Cup season with an impressive victory.
“The girls are a very young group, so it was great to see them play well,’’ Coburn said.
“We had a lot of 18-year-olds leave the squad after last year, so we’re much younger this year.
“The under-16 boys were very competitive. No scores were kept, but the boys played very well.”
The Pioneers play the Murray Bushrangers this Sunday in their second round of trial matches. The Pioneers’ under-18 girls start their TAC Cup home and away season this Saturday against Murray Bushrangers at Punt Rd.