Rovers' juniors excel at representative carnivals over summer

Riley Mitchell, 11, Kade Buckley, 12, and Tom Powick, 12, represented the Macleay Valley, Mid North Coast and North Coast at representative level in the Under-12s division.

Riley, who is predominately a bowler, believes he improved his skills at the carnivals but also learned the importance of patience.

"We learned how to be patient and not try to pick up a wicket every ball," Riley said.

"You need to work towards it and focus on doing the little things right."

Kade, who was selected in the representative sides as a batsman, scored 71 for Macleay Valley's in the Under-12s inter-district grand final victory.

The 12-year-old has a strong love for the game and wants to continue to make representative sides.

"I love it, just the whole game," Kade said.

"I want to play as much as I can and it's better when I can play with my mates."

Tom, who is also a batsman, scored 55 in the grand final victory and also picked up plenty of runs at the other carnivals.

Jack Wakely, 14, Cooper Petterson, 13, and Lachlan Dowling, 15, had a very busy representative season.

The three competed at the Kookaburra Cup for the North Coast side, represented NSW Country at the State Challenge and the Bradman Cup.

Jack and Lachlan were also selected for the NSW/ACT country team to compete at the Cricket Australia Under-15s National Championships in February.

Jack dominated the carnivals with the bat as he finished as the top run scorer in the Under-15 division at both the Kookaburra Cup and the State Challenge.

The 14-year-old fell agonisingly short of a century as he finished unbeaten on 97 as his teammate hit the winning runs with a six, however, the junior wasn't phased.

"I was just happy we got the victory," Jack said.

"I started the season off in great form and I got into a bit of a rhythm throughout the rep season because I am playing so much."

Meanwhile Lachlan's best form came for the Mid North Coast side as he scored 242 runs, finished with an average of 80.66 and was awarded the player of the tournament.

Cooper, who is a bowler, picked up key wickets at each carnival and finished with a haul of nine at the State Challenge.

The 13-year-old's tight bowling restricts the opponents opportunities to score runs.

Jonte Ross, 14, and Matthew Powick, 13, are both batsman and were selected into the Mid North Coast and North Coast representative sides.

Jonte earned great results at the Mid North Coast carnival as he recorded three half centuries. Players are forced to retire once they hit the milestone.

The 14-year-old finished the carnival as one of the top run scorers. The youngster also learned a valuable lesson at the Kookaburra Cup.

"I lost my wicket early and lost confidence after that and struggled," Jonte said.

"But it was a great experience and motivates me more to get back at that level, go higher and prove I can handle it."

Matthew, who can also spin bowl, was the highest run scorer at the Kookaburra Cup. However, he wasn't able to continue the form at the State Challenge.

"It was my first time there and it's a lot different to other carnivals," Matthew said.

"It was a higher standard and the coaches are a lot stricter."

Jye Woodger, Harry Nemme and Mitch Korn, who all play in Rovers' Premier League side, competed in Sydney in the Greenshield.

Each grade club in Sydney has a junior team and they can have a maximum of two country kids in each side.

Jye and Harry were selected into the Fairfield Liverpool team while Mitch played for UNSW.

The competition is held over the Christmas-New Year period and there's seven matches played.

Harry, who was picked in the team as a bowler, was returning from a calf injury and admits he struggled to find his rhythm.

"It wasn't one of my best seasons, I couldn't get my rhythm right as I was coming back from injury," Harry said.

"I probably rushed back but I have changed a lot of things up to improve my health.

"I have started to build up muscle in the gym, I am eating healthy and I have done a lot more to improve my fitness.

"It has helped heaps so far. I am feeling better and I can tell my pace has gotten a little quicker too."

Jye, who is a top order batsman, started the season in good form but said he's biggest problem is completing his innings and recording a big score.

"I have got a lot of starts over the summer but I haven't been able to convert them into a big score," Jye said.

"I have done a bit of work on my technique throughout the season and hopefully I am rewarded for my hard work soon."

Meanwhile Mitch, who began wicket keeping at the start of the season, had a strong season in the Greenshield competition.

"I took quite a few wickets which was good, my confidence is building with the gloves and I have learned a bit from my brother Jackson," Mitch said.

"I also played for the North Coast Colts Under-18s in a week-long carnival and as I was one of the younger players I am hoping to continue to get picked in the team and build every season."

The three players were also selected in the North Coast Under-16s side to compete at the Bradman Cup.

Rovers president Carlos Peters said the entire club is proud of their juniors and the impressive representative honours they have earned.

"On behalf of everyone from the club, we are very proud of them. It's an amazing achievement to make representative sides but to go to them and then continue to get selected into higher teams and to conduct yourself in a great manner is outstanding," Peters told the Argus.

"Without the juniors, a club doesn't have a future. We recognise that and it's why we put so much into getting more kids involved and helping them be the best cricketers they can be.

"It's great to see our club have so many successful juniors but the credit also has to go to all of the volunteers who have dedicated their own time to coaching the young players."

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