Sport
4 April, 2025
Exciting additions
WITH some canny recruiting and having retained most of last season’s key players, Boort is seen by many as a big improver this season. Coach Dale Cameron is of the view that the Magpies should have made the finals last year and is confident his...
WITH some canny recruiting and having retained most of last season’s key players, Boort is seen by many as a big improver this season.
Coach Dale Cameron is of the view that the Magpies should have made the finals last year and is confident his side can mix it with the big boys in 2025.
Kayne Rutley is an intriguing recruit straight from the Calder Cannons in the Coates Talent League, who is the son of assistant coach and former player Andrew Rutley.
He played 13 times last year in the elite under-18 competition and also played for Keilor in the Essendon District Football League’s junior division.
Rutley played as a small forward in the junior league, but at 180cm may have a more prominent role with Boort.
He also has an enormous leap, so he shapes as an exciting addition to the side.
Rutley’s brother Tyson also joins Boort from the EDFL, part of Cameron’s stated aim of having onboard players with a solid connection to the club.
East Keilor’s Peter Barbopoulos is another recruit from the same league, slated to boost the forward line.
Most exciting of all is the addition of Carlos Egan, a former member of Essendon’s Next Generation Academy who has played VFL football with Essendon and trialled with Collingwood’s VFL squad over the summer.
Boort’s key re-signing was reigning best-and-fairest Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, who was a revelation in his first season in the North Central league.
He has been appointed as one of Cameron’s assistant coaches for 2025.
Midfielder Jhye Baddeley-Kelly’s impact on Boort in his first season was plain to see, with a club best-and-fairest award, and third place in the Feeny Medal for the league’s top player.
His win in the club award was massive, tallying 78 votes to win by 32 over fellow midfielder Tom Potter.
Baddeley-Kelly was playing good football for Coburg in the VFL in 2022-23, fronting up against many AFL senior-listed players.
A 24-disposal game against the Box Hill Hawks for 104 AFL Fantasy points, followed by a 25-disposal outing against Collingwood in 2022 highlighted his potential.
He dominated at suburban league level with powerhouse club North Heidelberg, where AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey still plays, kicking 30 goals from 11 games in 2023 while also representing Coburg.
At just 28, Baddeley-Kelly is in the prime of his career and will play a critical role in Boort’s fortunes this season.
Carlos Egan has the skillset to be an instant success in the North Central competition.
Considered unlucky not to have been drafted to the AFL, the small forward has played in the VFL and was highly rated in the Coates Talent League playing with the Calder Cannons.
In 2022, the highlight of his season was a six-goal haul against Eastern Ranges in the semi-finals, a return which saw him named as the best player afield.
Quick, skilful and with a clear eye for the goals, Egan played last season with Strathmore in the EDFL, which has proved a goldmine for the Magpies recruiting team.
Having just turned 21, Egan is primed to make a difference up forward for Boort.
And his talent was apparent early, with a win in the EDFL under-13 competition’s best-and-fairest award in 2017.
He is small in stature at 167cm, but strong for his size at around 70g.
Boort Football Club was formed in the late 1880s but it took until 1925 for premiership success to come in the short-lived Gladstone Football Association when the team beat Mysia.
In 1937, playing in the Mitamo league, Boort again won the flag, defeating Pyramid Hill in the grand final.
Premierships in the Korong league came in 1949 and 1950 before Boort joined the North Central competition.
The Magpies beat Wycheproof in the grand final in 1954, only their fourth season in the league.
Then followed a long period starved of success until 1982, when Boort thrashed Wycheproof Narraport to take the flag.
The club’s third premiership came in 2008 with a win over Wedderburn. The legendary Tony Southcombe, one of the great country footballers of his era, won the Feeny Medal in 1981.
Another country great in Ron Best took out the goal kicking award for Boort with 100 majors in 1981, contributing to his astounding career total of 1919 goals.