Moreton Bay United’s juniors have clocked-up another amazing milestone in this remarkable NPL Qld season.
The collective points totals of our Under 13-16 Boys’ teams have collectively placed us third among the NPL's top four with Brisbane Roar, Brisbane City and Lions.
As a result of this post-season grouping, Jets' teams will play three rounds against top ranked Brisbane Roar, second-ranked Brisbane City and fourth-ranked Lions, starting this weekend.
At the same time those ranked 5-8 and 9-14, using a combined points average of each club’s four age group teams, will also play against each other.
“Even considering we are not results focussed in our Under 13-16 groups, the third-place overall finish is a great reflection on the consistency within our program,” said Jets’ Technical Director Matt Poole.
“Our coaches and players have done a tremendous job since returning from the COVID break and have made the most of an extremely unusual year.”
Moreton Bay United players also made up more than 10 per cent of the Football Queensland Talent Support Program.
“Our culture at MBU is unique and the successes of the program show that a clear and consistent development philosophy combined with a consistent long-term development environment for players is the key to player development,” said Matt.
“We want players who are committed to the club in the long-term, as history shows these are the players who are more likely to maximise their potential as players.”
And there’s plenty of potential ahead of them, as Matt revealed:
Jets’ Under 18s
- Finished second in their competition, scoring 61 goals in 13 games - goal difference of +43.
- Brayden O’Regan and Zach Kierpal were joint leading scorers in the Under 18 competition with 17 goals (Brayden in 7 games, Zach in 8 games). The third highest scorer had 11.
- Brayden moved up to the Under 20s after seven games and scored six goals in seven games. Zach went into the first team and has three goals in three games.
- 75 per cent of the group have been at Moreton Bay United for three or more years
- Eight players have had experience in the Under 20s during the season
Jets’ Under 20s
- Finished third in their competition
- 80 per cent of the players have been MBU Juniors
- 75 per cent of the players are 19 or younger
- Wil Edmiston and Danny Champness (MBU Juniors since Under 12) both made numerous appearances for the first team in 2020
“The results of our Under 18 and 20 groups is further evidence that our youth development plan is working,” said Matt. “A large majority of these players are MBU Juniors, which is a great position for the club to be in.
“We are starting to see our younger players have opportunities with the first team earlier, and Royce (Brownlie) and Rich (Greer) have done a tremendous job providing the 18s and 20s with a clear connection to the first team throughout the season.
“With the quality of player coming through the club, we should be able to fill our Under 18 and Under 20 teams almost completely with MBU junior players for years to come."