Sci-Fleet Colts Preview - Magpie Colts keen to make their mark

The Western Magpies Under 19s will be keen to make a mark against one of the QAFLs Under 18-19 powerhouses in Mt Gravatt when they clash at Mt Gravatt at 9.30am on Saturday. 

The Pies did not field an Under 18 team last year but the Sherwood Under 17s were undefeated Premiers and will provide quite a few top-line players for the team with several on the verge of senior selection.

The Pies are keen to test their mettle against their long time rivals in junior age groups to see where they sit at this level.

Coach Justin Gore has said it has been a challenging pre-season pulling the team togetherwith a squad made up of Under 17s from last year and several players returning to the club with a few new players as well.

The preseason matches saw some mixed results as the squad came together with some players also required to play in the seniors which was a good thing for their development.

However, this left the side down on numbers in their match againsta powerful Southport but the side responded by outscoring their more fancied opponents in the second half despite only playing with 16 players. This gave the team belief that they can compete with the best at under 19 level this season.

In the other match at Redcliffe the Pies won easily with some lessons from the first game being learnt and applied.

Some of the players Gore will look to lead the side will be captain Dom Misso through the midfield and fellow midfielders Liam Reynolds and Rory Johnson. He has 2 big key forwards in Jonno Mason (returning after missing 2 years with a serious knee injury) and Jeremy de Rooy as targets and some silky movers around the goals and across half forward in Chae Lawson, Kurt Vine and Billy Johnson. 

Gore believes he has a side to challenge for the top half finals in the new Under 19 format and is confident that his side will put plenty of smiles on the Magpies' faithful as they continue the tradition of strong Magpies Colts teams that have come before them.