By Tara Murray
Melton is banking on youth this season in the Hockey Victoria Vic League competition.
The Mustangs, who have a Vic League 2 women’s side and a Vic League 3 men’s side, will field some young teams this year.
Mustangs’ Tom McMurrie said the women’s program had a lot of new and young players.
“We have a really young first side with a couple of older girls down back,” he said. “There’s a lot of 15-16 year-olds who are really good players.
“Our women’s side has a lot of new players, who have improved a lot and have gone quite well.
“Hopefully they’ll start to get some wins together.”
He highlighted the likes of Chloe Schwarze, Jemma Rigby, Kayla and Kiara Ive as four of the young players to watch.
The Vic League 2 side had a tough challenge on Saturday against Casey, which dropped down from Vic League 1 in the off season.
Casey won 6-0. Lisa Williams was the best for the Mustangs, who were missing a couple of players.
Melton’s second women’s side lost 5-0 to Sunshine.
The men’s Vic League 3 side faced a team which dropped down from a higher grade. The Mustangs lost to ECHO, 3-0.
McMurrie said while the side is a young one, they were hopeful they could build on last season.
“They’re a very young side coming through with a few older guys.
“They played a really good side and showed glimpses, we were on top for parts of the match.
“Development is important for that side, I would like to see the side play finals. We weren’t far off last season and if you turn a couple of those losses into wins, we can definitely play finals.”
The men’s Pennant G side lost to ECHO, 3-1, while the Masters side had a first-up 7-0 win against Yarra Valley.
Meanwhile, Caroline Springs men’s and women’s Vic League sides both had byes this week.
