RAIDERS REWARD FOR JORDYNCANBERRA Raiders Development Manager David Hamilton described him as ‘an outstanding talent’, while his coach Brett Maron said the acknowledgment was ‘a just reward for an excellent season’.
Cootamundra’s Jordyn Ballard was named as the Harold Matthews Shield Player’s Player of the Year award at the Raiders junior representative teams presentation dinner held at the West Belconnen Leagues Club last week.
Jordyn is one of three Coota players, the others being Sam Jennings-Mays and Ryan Miller, who were recruited to the youngest of the Raiders teams this year, impressing all and sundry with not only their commitment but also their ability.
The Raiders just missed out on the semi finals of the under 16s competition, with all three returning to the Bulldogs ranks where they are key members of the Sullivan Cup side.
Maron, who developed a close relationship with the Coota contingent, said Jordyn has all the qualities of an exceptional player.
“It was said on the night when presenting the award to Jordyn that he is always a threat to the defence with the ball in hand, while his defence at fullback is another of his strengths,’ Maron said.
“He has great vision in attack, runs great angles and can put himself into a hole, while he can also jump into the first line of attack and act as a ball player.
“He is very level headed for a young fella and demonstrates a maturity not all footballers have at just 15.
“His communication at the back is good, he was a bit quite when he first came to us, but worked hard to improve that area of his game.”
Maron said all three Coota boys were crucial to the make up of the side.
“Sam showed leadership qualities from the very first training session and developed a great rapport with his teammates,” he said.
“It was these qualities that saw him named as captain of the side and he leads by example on the field with a high work rate.
“He hits the line hard, is heavily involved defensively and supports other ball runners.
“Ryan finished as our top try scorer for the year and provided great finishing touches on the wing.
“He also got his chance in the centres where his speed and ability to beat his direct opponent saw him create plenty of chances for himself and the side.”
It wasn’t just on the field that the Coota boys impressed their coach.
“Their commitment to training was exceptional,’ Maron said.
“It was tougher for the Coota boys as they had to travel to Canberra two or three times a week so it’s a massive testament to their parents as well as the boys.
“They, the boys and their parents had to make a lot of sacrafices to make it all happen.
Moran said all three boys will be invited back to trial for places in next year’s SG Ball (under 18s) squad and, based on their performances this year, all three are capable of taking the next step.
Source: The Cootamundra Herald
Topic: RAIDERS REWARD FOR JORDYN
