Orange is set to rock the Central West AFL under-14 competition in season 2019 after the Constance brothers picked up dual gongs at the CWAFL’s award night on Friday.
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Liam and Nate Constance picked up the CWAFL best and fairest in the under 14 and under 12s respectively, and with Liam a bottom-aged under-14s player and Nate top-aged under 12, the two will be lining up alongside each other in the midfield next season.
It’s a prospect under-14s coach Daniel Bock is salivating at, considering he expects to go around again in 2019.
“It’s an outstanding effort,” he said of the brothers.
“They both had a full-on preseason, they started when the senior boys did and that meant they had an extra six weeks of training and gave them more ability in covering ground.”
The extra training stood out from game one.
“He was fitter than anyone else, he’s just run and run,” Bock said of Liam.
Bock didn’t get the chance to watch too much of younger brother Nate, as he was off preparing his charges for games in the back end of the under-12s games, but the younger Constance did fill in for “a few games”.
“He was a bit small for under-14s but I did watch him play quite a bit and what I did see was the same as Liam, the amount of work they do on their fitness and their skills is incredible,” Bock said.
Bock also noted most of the side, which won the 2017 under-12 side, were bottom-age this season, and several players coming up from the 2018 under-12 side would give Bock a formidable squad next season.
“They’re all good kids who can go ahead again at that level next year … it was physically hard for us against Cowra (in the grand final) and next year they’ll be stronger,” he said.
Bock was also awarded junior coach of the year, with a successful year for the club recognised by the league.
Gemma Gailey was crowned the league best and fairest for the youth girls to go alongside her 2018 premiership medal with a four-vote buffer from second place recognising her strong year.
Meanwhile, Dominic Gibson was named junior umpire of the year.
Bock said he didn’t expect the recognition for his award, especially considering his side didn’t win the flag after confusion over player numbers in the grand final lead to a headcount midway through the second quarter, with Orange docked several goals and losing momentum.
“It was good to be acknowledged for years of cold nights at training, and for the league to acknowledge it is super,” he said.
“There were plenty of volunteers around the club this year who who put a lot of outstanding work in this year and they need to be acknowledged, which I’m sure they will be.”