Sport
29 August, 2022
Exciting future for Pies as Wood claims under 14 top gong
Although Maryborough’s under 14 and under 16 teams were both unable to progress directly into their respective grand finals on the weekend, they live to fight another day with preliminary final appearances this week, while there was further good...

Although Maryborough’s under 14 and under 16 teams were both unable to progress directly into their respective grand finals on the weekend, they live to fight another day with preliminary final appearances this week, while there was further good news for the club, with Campbell Wood winning the Bendigo Junior Football League under 14 division one best and fairest.
Both under 14 and under 16 teams were beaten by Sandhurst, with the under 14 team losing by 23 points, while the under 16 team lost by an agonising one point.
However, both of them have a chance to atone this weekend, with the under 14s playing South Bendigo, while the under 16s play Castlemaine.
In the meantime, Wood’s under 14 best and fairest victory was the culmination of a stellar home and away season, with four Maryborough players finishing in the top nine in their count.
Logan Howell finished third, while Archie Chadwick and Zac Cicchini finished equal eighth.
Coach Cam Skinner spoke highly of Wood’s ability as a footballer.
“Campbell has had an unbelievable season, as have a few other boys. He’s one of those kids who is well-balanced and reads the game really well. He’s a good kick of the footy, takes good contested marks and is pretty much the complete package,” he said.
Skinner paid tribute to the efforts of Howell, Chadwick and Cicchini in the process.
“It’s really good. When you have that many good players, they usually steal votes off each other, but we had four players in the top nine in the league which is pretty rare. They also played two fewer games than other clubs, which makes it even more of a great effort to win a best and fairest,” he said.
With a concerted effort to ensure the club’s junior system can thrive, helping the senior team in the coming years, Skinner said it was important to ensure the juniors had great support to continue their footballing journey with the Magpies.
“Our aim is to have the under 16s feed the under 18s, so we aim to give them a program which connects with the seniors. As long as we teach them the same fundamentals the senior team are being taught, they can go to the under 18s and feel comfortable and well-equipped to play that level,” he said.
“But it’s important to keep these kids. If you keep losing them to other clubs or other sports, it becomes impossible to keep that under 18 program going. If we can have two or three good years of players filtering in, it will hold us in good stead.”