THE MURRAY Bushrangers head into the 2023 Coates Talent League season with a new girls head coach, fresh off a year which saw four graduates end up on AFL Women’s lists.

Former Western Bulldogs and St Kilda-listed player Emma Mackie will mentor the next batch of Bushies, who promise to provide plenty of variety when it comes to talent and age range.

“It’s a little bit of a mix,” Mackie said. “We’ve got a lot of younger talent coming through. We’ve got a bit of athleticism there, we’ve still got some cross-coders.

“Then we’ve got girls who just have that natural footballing talent as well and have really good skills, but it’s maybe the fitness side that we’re having to work on. So it’s a bit of a mix in both of those fields.”

Having finalised her list “relatively early” and after a smooth preseason, Mackie says she is keen to see how her troops fare come season proper.

Matching last year’s draft haul looms as a steep task, but as GWS recruit Zarlie Goldsworthy proved in a blistering start last year, anything can happen once players finally cross the white line in true competition.

“It’s always hard before Round 1 because even before the first round last year, I was like ‘oh, I’m not sure here’, but then all of a sudden you see the girls play,” Mackie said. I think (on-field) is where you see the girls shine.

“To be honest, I’m probably just waiting to see how we shape up once we start playing but I think we have a couple of girls that will really surprise us, and a couple of the girls that are already on the radar at the moment.”

The Bushrangers have two prospects in the Vic Country Under 18 hub – Paige Duffy and Kaylea Kobzan – who are both top-agers. Mackie said Duffy is working hard on her improvement areas, but will bring high levels of “fitness and competitiveness”.

Key defender Grace Hay, a talented netballer has now fully committed to football, is also set to return to the program as an over-ager. She earned representative honours last year and is right in the frame to be officially recognised as a leader of the group.

“Grace is really standing out just with her skills and engagement,” Mackie said “I think she’s definitely one who could slide into an AFL Women’s program now and be a really great asset.”

Mackie also had plenty of praise for a couple more draft eligible players coming into their top-age campaigns.

“In terms of the Under 18s coming through, Destiny Dodd has really good leadership. I think she’s going to be a surprise package. She’s really great in that midfield and surprisingly really great in the ruck so she’ll be one that if she strings a couple of good games together, can really put herself in the spotlight.

“Kloe McElhinney, she’s top-age, has some great skills. She’s working on getting that fitness up a little bit more but she’s got some speed and I think she’s going to have a great season. She’ll hopefully be coming into that crop with Vic Country.”

Murray’s maiden outing under Mackie is locked in for Sunday March 19 at Rumbalara Recreation Reserve, against the Bendigo Pioneers. As for what to expect from the Bushies, Mackie says it’ll be a case of striking a unique balance based on “growth”, rather than wins and losses.

“What we’re all about is development and getting the individuals to show their weapons, but at the same time we want to be seen as the Bushrangers and as one team working well together,” she said.

“Be better is our hashtag… so all I can ask is the girls give their best, they work hard, they switch on when they’re at the game, they’re there for each other and support each other.”