GVBBL - Mud Dogs ecstatic with squad's balance

By Max Stainkamph

Dec 1, 2020

Normally coming out a draft you’re left ruing the one that got away, but for SRP Mud Dogs owner Steve Reeves that’s not the case.

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He walked away from Sunday’s Goulburn Valley Bush Bash League draft a happy man.

“We had a list we rated and we managed to get six of our top 13, so we’re really pleased,” Reeves said.

One of those was always ending up at the Mud Dogs, who held pick one heading into the draft, but Reeves was stoked to see Echuca’s Taylor Beard slide to pick eight and Barooga’s Riley Gow slip to pick 11.

“We’re really pleased . . . I think we got the balance right in the end,” Reeves said.

“If there’s a wicket with a bit of turn we’ve got plenty of spinners and 90 per cent of them can bat and bowl.

“Liam Smith from Bendigo batted at 11 for us, he bats at three in his first-grade side in Bendigo.”

The bowling was the one thing Reeves desperately wanted to target — and did so in a big way in the form of the number one pick.

North Albury speedster Jake Burge was the Mud Dogs’ first selection, and one they pondered over as much as Adelaide’s recruiting team will be in the lead-up to the AFL draft.

“It wasn’t an easy choice, but as the week went on it became clearer,” Reeves said.

“We had plenty of batters and spin options, but didn’t have that out-and-out quick.”

The Mud Dogs nearly gave up pick one, too — Hurley’s Hotel Hounds circled the club before the draft looking for the number one pick and, while a bunch of proposals were floated in the end, Reeves held on to the pick.

“We wanted the extra pick back in order to move number one along,” he said.

“It was close, but we didn’t get it across the line. We were happy to keep it in the end.”

He had the chance to play recruiter, too — not quite going as far as heading to draftees’ houses for tea and scones, but having the authentic Silvagni experience of his club drafting his son Mason.

“We gave them all a call to find out about their availability, you don’t want them to only be available for two games or to find they’ll be away during finals,” Reeves said.

“I had nothing to do with drafting (Mason), the other guys were on top of that . . . I was keen to give Mason another year, but the others said he was ready to go.”

The younger Reeves will be joined by pick 27 Kobyn James, an Echuca young gun the Mud Dogs’ owner is bullish on as a reserve keeper.