The dogged inside midfielder has been a standout at junior level all season, with an impressive under-16 national championships carnival for Victoria Country thrusting his name into selection consideration for the Bushies’ brainstrust.
Set to add some much-needed grunt around the contest for the Bushrangers, who have lost their past three games, coach Mark Brown said he was excited to give Warburton the opportunity.
“We’ll give some 16-year-olds an opportunity this week with Ollie Warburton coming into the side as a renowned Shepparton name,” Brown said.
“This comes off the back of a really good carnival for Victoria Country in the under-16s and we are really looking forward to seeing how he fairs.
“We expect Ollie to transition into NAB League footy very easily, he’s combative, competes really hard and will find the footy well as an inside midfielder.
“He will play a big role in our midfield and I think he will bring that some level of performance he’s shown in the under-16s.”
The Bushies will be itching to bounce back when they hit Bendigo’s Queen Elizabeth Oval on Sunday afternoon, with a shock 11-point loss to Calder Cannons a fortnight ago still lingering among all involved with the program.
A performance Brown labelled as his side’s “worst of the season”, he said he expected a strong response this weekend.
“The boys have had a really solid two-week block of training and they were as disappointed with the performance as we were, especially after they had produced such a solid period of football in the 10 weeks prior,” he said.
“But with the way they’ve conducted themselves on the track, I am confident we will see a spike in performance against Bendigo on Sunday and be back to playing our best footy.”
The second meeting between the two sides this season, the Bushrangers prevailed by 10 points in a low-scoring encounter in Mildura in round 10.
Brown said he expected a similarly tight contest this time around.
“They’ve had a season that can be categorised by its near misses,” he said.
“We only just beat them earlier in the season and you can’t take much from that game given the travel requirements for both teams to get to Mildura.
“We will have to play extremely well to beat them, there is no doubt about that and we expect a really good game.”
The Bushies will be buoyed the return of Tatura product Brayden George, with the power-forward successfully recovering from a knee injury.
Touted as a first round pick in this year’s AFL draft, Brown said he would add a different dimension to his team’s attacking set-up.
“Brayden has looked really strong on the training track and, as long as there is no hiccups at training tonight, he will come back into the side this week which is great,” he said.
“I think he will remind everyone pretty quickly of just how much of a talent he is, he will bring so much to our forward line and we are very excited to have him back.”
Murray Bushrangers travel to Bendigo’s Queen Elizabeth Oval on Sunday to face the Pioneers, with the first bounce at 11.30am.
