HAILING from the South Mildura Football Club, teenager Ajay McDonald had a strong impact in his SANFL under 16s debut for the North Adelaide Roosters.
McDonald played for the Roosters in a clash with Central District in round five of the 2025 campaign, on Easter Thursday afternoon, April 17 at X-Convenience Stadium, Elizabeth in a fixture that started at 3pm.
It was a tough opening game at this level for the bottom ager; North were defeated by the Bulldogs by 41 points, 14.11 (95) to 8.6 (54), after being 21 points down at half time.
McDonald continued to work hard against the odds, finishing with 12 possessions, which included eight handballs, along with a pair of marks, a tackle and a clearance.
“Ajay McDonald played as an on-baller changing across half forward,” North Adelaide coach Jake Lynch explained.
“This was the first time Ajay became available, as he didn’t play in our last trial after rolling an ankle while playing in the basketball country championships.
“One of Ajay’s real strengths is he is one of those special players that is able to create time and space in a game.
“He can extract the ball from stoppages, has clean hands and knows where the goals are.
“On Thursday he looked at home at the level and will just get better with more exposure.
“He still has another year in our under 16s program after this season, having his 15th birthday in late June.”
Last year, along with playing for South Mildura in the under 14s competition, McDonald played a representative game for Sunraysia against the Central Rivers’ under 14s, where he was among the best players.
Among his 19 games for South Mildura under 14s in 2024, which included an eight-point grand final win over Wentworth District, McDonald was amongst the best players on 16 occasions, including as captain, being best player on the ground and kicking three goals in the season decider.
He also returned to Sunraysia football on the weekend and was best for South under 16s in their win over Irymple less than 24 hours later on Friday morning.
Older brother Zander, also a gifted basketballer, is also in the North Adelaide under 16s program, but he will be on the sidelines for some time after breaking his ankle while training with the South Bulldogs recently.
There is another Sunraysia connection in the North Adelaide under 16s in Harvy Vandenberg from Wentworth.
He is a student at Prince Alfred College and has been among the more consistent performers for the Roosters across the opening month of the season.
Vandenberg played one game in the North Adelaide under 16s program in 2024, and along with his school commitments, played with the Unley Jets in the SANFL community programs.
He also played a half a dozen matches for the Wentworth Roos under 16s last season.
