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 pl