Powered by youth and energised by improvement.
That’s been the tale for Catani this season, which is starting to see reward for gains under first-year coach Ray Pickering.
The Blues have four wins for 2025, which is roughly on par with recent tallies of three, four and one, but with three winnable games in the run home, there is the chance for a tangible step forward.
Regardless what that number ends up, Catani is well-placed to build on the foundations laid in 2025.
Eight players aged 21 and under have been regulars in the senior lineup, with that exposure to senior footy set to position them well for the future.
“Our game style was good in the first five weeks which is why we were competitive and we’ve just gone away from it,” Pickering said last week.
“Based on our skillsets, we’ve brought in more of a handball and run game with our younger blokes and in the first five weeks we got that going and were hard to stop.
“With the rigours of the wintry grind and coming up against different sides who bring different game plans we’ve struggled at times, but it’s been pleasing to see the game plan come to fruition for large parts so far.”
Among the youngsters to shine have been young ruck Riley McLeod, utility Tyler Fowkes and Brodie Cameron, with the club hoping the promise of those players is a representation of a brighter future.
The wins so far this season have come against Nyora, Poowong, Bunyip and Yarragon, and the Blues could also have quite easily knocked off Lang Lang and Yarragon a second time if for better finishing ability.
Two of those opponents, Bunyip and Poowong, feature on the run home, alongside sixth-placed Ellinbank.
Pickering praised the impact of Brodie White, whose consistency across the up-and-down campaign has been important for the Blues, having been named in the best in eight of 13 games.
“I wish I had five of him, he cracks in with his body, takes no prisoners, every coach would love a Brodie White,” Pickering said.
“His body holds up even though he’s hard at it, on the bottom of packs and tackles hard and has a crack at anything you ask him to do.
“He’s been super.
“Started him down back early because of his tagging ability on good forwards and hardness for younger guys and moved him into the midfield since losing Tyson Robertson.”
Julian Suarez, recruited from Tooradin in the off-season, has been another handy asset in the young side, providing forward presence which has been lacking in recent times.
Suarez, coming off a 100-goal season in West Gippsland’s Reserves competition, already has 35 for the season.
While not at the levels of the club’s legendary full-forward Owen Fitzpatrick, it’s the first time a player has surpassed 30 goals for Catani since Matthew Barand did it in 2019.
