2013 Draft Profile: Aaron Heppell
Aaron Heppell (Gippsland Power) Height: 181 cm Weight: 78 kg Player Comparison: Heath Shaw Player Style: Corey Enright Strengths: Ground contests; Football IQ; Positioning Weaknesses: Stamina; Overhead contested marking Gippsland Power have started the 2013 TAC Cup season with a bang and despite losing their past two games, are still sitting nicely in fifth position […]
TAC Cup: round four review (Country round)
In the final split round for the year, the Geelong Falcons, Dandenong Stingrays and Murray Bushrangers all recorded wins. The Falcons held off a spirited Pioneers outfit with the Bendigo midfield standing strong against the classy Falcons. The North Ballarat Rebels matched it with the Stingrays for a half, but after key forward Dallas Willsmore […]
Shiel leads Stingrays’ Giant AFL contribution
The Giants of Sydney’s greater west vaunt an embarrassment of raw midfield talent. Take out the Stingrays of Melbourne’s south east and they’d just have an embarrassing midfield. The names Shiel, Whitfield, Treloar and Scully make up the cream of the Dandenong Stingrays alumni that run through the Giants’ midfield, and their production has been […]
2013 Draft Profile: Tom Boyd
Tom Boyd (Eastern Ranges) Height: 199 cm Weight: 102 kg Player Comparison: Josh Kennedy/Matthew Kreuzer in full flight. Style: Jonathan Brown Strengths: Marking, Agility and Kicking. Weaknesses: Mentality when being niggled Tom Boyd is a mountain of a man at 199 cm and 102 kg who is a huge focal point for Eastern Ranges. But […]
Jacob Chisari leads list of puzzling Vic Country omissions
Every year the All-Australian team is critiqued by both the media and the fans. At TAC Cup level, this is no different for the Victorian Under 18 squads. Unlike the 40-man All-Australian squad at AFL level, there are two squads representing Victoria: Vic Metro and Vic Country. Each squad is comprised of players from six […]
TAC Cup: round seven review
The TAC Cup is almost halfway through the season with still plenty of surprises occurring. Tasmania pulled off a surprise win in terrible conditions against the Western Jets while in the second game, the Geelong Falcons managed to continue their unbeaten streak to see off the Calder Cannons. In other matches, Sandringham belted Oakleigh, Eastern […]
Hartung returns to help Stingrays defeat Pioneers
The Dandenong Stingrays got across the line against the Bendigo Pioneers last weekend thanks to the return of top draft prospect Billy Hartung. Dandenong were unconvincing and inaccurate, posting a score of 10.16, but it was enough to see off the gallant Pioneers by 17 points. Hartung, returning for his first game since having surgery in […]
Future stars impress in Victorian trials
(Photo: Nathan Freeman evades a tackler – Rising Stars Head Photographer Christian Hartung) With the first round of the Under 18s Championships beginning in a fortnight, the Victorian sides had a couple of scratch matches for their squads to dust off the cobwebs and begin getting players from across the twelve TAC Cup clubs used […]
Falcons football factory open for business
Unlike the AFL, TAC Cup lists turnover drastically from year to year. While they are primarily made up of top-age players or those that turn 18 this year, they are also able to contain bottom-age players (those turning 17 this year) and a maximum of five over-age players (those who weren’t selected at the drafts […]
Crouch not pressured by expectations
Despite being without a single win on the board, North Ballarat Rebels’ captain and man of the moment Matt Crouch is reluctant to let a few upsets get the better of him. A potential win against Sandringham Dragons proved futile, with the Rebels going down by 26 points in a low scoring game riddled with […]
TAC Cup: round six review
The TAC Cup round six kicked off with the state teams Queensland and Tasmania entering the fray, but unfortunately suffering heavy losses to Calder and Eastern Ranges respectively. Bendigo Pioneers held on against a fast-finishing Oakleigh Chargers while the Dandenong Stingrays comfortably accounted for the Murray Bushrangers. Geelong Falcons wiped the floor with the Northern […]
2013 Draft Profile: Jake Kalanj
Jake Kalanj (Northern Knights) Height: 184 cm Weight: 78 kg Player Comparison: Ryan O’Keefe (except less of a goal kicker) Style: Jimmy Bartel Strengths: Marking, reading the play and tackling Weaknesses: Lacks a damaging kick, predominately an outside midfielder and is one paced. It’s impossible to really place the Northern Knights this season. They are […]
