Of the 500-plus boys and girls who took to the park in the 2023 V/Line Cup in Shepparton, a smattering of local stars were named in the official team of the tournament.
AFL Victoria recently released the honours list, with nine players from the Goulburn Murray region making the grade across three divisions.
In boys division one, Blake Sofra (Shepparton United), Keelin Phillips (Shepparton Swans) and Rory Kennedy (Seymour) secured a spot alongside Echuca’s Cody Walker, who was picked under the Bendigo Pioneers banner.
Goulburn Murray finished the tournament with a 1-1 ledger, losing the first match by 78 points to eventual winners South East Stingrays before scalping a 9.7 (61) to 7.6 (48) triumph against the Pioneers.
Meanwhile, division two boys merits went the way of Cody Montgomery (Shepparton-Notre), Jayden Thorne (Mooroopna) and Mikael Corso (Cobram).
Goulburn Murray’s second division side had an identical run to the grade above, losing out to South East before clinching victory against country rival Bendigo.
And in the girls’ Team of the Tournament, Shepparton United jet Leila Creevey was the sole Shepparton talent to make the cut, thrown in the mix next to Deniliquin’s Savannah Emery and Whittlesea’s Lana Carroll.
The Goulburn Murray girls put up a valiant fight, but was unable to take a win from the tournament.