by Jim Gordon
Jeparit Rainbow v Walpeup Underbool
In what will be an emotionally charged game at Rainbow after the tragic deaths of two key Roo players in an horrific plane crash just outside Ouyen in February, a devastated Walpeup Underbool travel to Rainbow as reigning premiers to take on the Jeparit Rainbow Lakers.
Scott Munro and Tim Vallance were more than just great team men and valued contributors over many years, they were the heart and soul of a proud club, already battling falling player numbers.
Well versed in dealing with adversity, the Roos still look too strong and talented for the Lakers who also battle every week to stay competitive in what has become in recent years, a very strong country league.
It looks like Walpeup Underbool will have a lot younger side than the 2012, nevertheless we can expect the Roos to be very competitive once again, although just how strong they really are this year will depend on how well the other sides have recruited.
Walpeup Underbool will have at least seven players missing from last year’s grand final winning side. Premiership coach Jeremy Rowe has taken a coaching role in the Adelaide Hills, Pat Whitlum, Ryan Anderson and Sam McDonald have all moved on and they will be without a few Reserve players who are not travelling home this year.
.
Always active in the recruiting department, the Roos have gained the services of Ben Fisher from West Adelaide. Fisher is a half back, onballer who plays a similar game to their 2012 star David Piasente and is highly regarded in the SANFL.
They will also have a former Red Cliffs boy Tyson Gordon who plays a strong game in the centre or up forward and they hope to have the services of Josh Coates a Premiership player with the Demons who plays at half back.
Chris Chubb has re signed and is virtually a new addition after injury disrupted his 2012 season. Other notable players to return are David Piasente, Wade Champion, Josh Charles and Daniel Harris. Luke Nathan has taken on the Senior coaching role, with Nathan Grayling again leading the reserves.
The Roos have a number of young kids coming through and they plan to give them an opportunity to develop themselves at senior level.
Luke Werner will be in his third year as Jeparit Rainbow senior coach with Michael Henderson his assistant. The Lakers have lost three class players: Ashley Clugston and Justin Chilver have joined Dimboola and Sean Bayzand has returned to the Hills League in South Australia after one season with Jeparit Rainbow.
This is balanced out by several new players including Chris Farrell from Taylors Lake, Josh Murphy was with Minyip Murtoa, Adam Schultz Warracknabeal, Chris Meyer Kaniva and Brad Keller played for Nhill. There are also several prospective players who are yet to sign.
In their practice match against Taylors Lake it was pleasing to see the good form of younger Laker players Simon Clugston, Nathan Cocks and Tom Clugston. These players, plus Tyler Edelsten, Brett Jensz and Adam Schumann now have enough senior experience to play a bigger role as the team endeavours to push for finals football in 2013. The win against Taylors Lake was even more meritorious as the Lakers were missing nine regular senior players.
With a good numbers of players on their list, this could be the best year the Lakers have had in a while.
Hopetoun v Woomelang Lascelles
These two sides had seasons they would rather forget last year with the Cats nowhere near the four and the Devils dropping out after a dismal performance in the Preliminary final.
Woomelang Lascelles have been training since before Christmas in an effort to be as fit as possible for Round One. Joint senior coaches are Jason Kreuger and Aaron Lonergan with Anthony Foott as their assistant. New players to the club are Brent Wiseman, Dwayne Hamlyn, Corey Kelly, Jamie Church, Chris McMahon, Josh Ratcliffe and Jack Byrnes.
Players who have left the Cats are Jason Smith, Clayton Lee, Chris Lee and Brad Hassell. Unfortunately for the Cats Anthony Foott will be out for an unknown period of time due to injury.
Hopetoun has a lot to prove this year and they are determined to put last year’s erratic season behind them. Their best was as good as anyone’s, but they dropped away when it counted most.
Coaches for the season will be Luke Carr, Liam Price and Deek Roberts. Luke has experience with the Horsham Demons and Taylors Lake while it is Liam and Deeks first coaching experience.
New recruits for the Devils include Kyle George who is an experienced and highly regarded on baller from Warracknabeal in the Wimmera Football League. George has a wealth of experience including a stint at VFL level and he will add some much needed strength to the middle and onball. Pat Purcell is a talented half forward/on baller from Taylors Lake in the Horsham District Football League and his remarkable hands and make Purcell a great inclusion for the Devils. Cade Wellington is an explosive forward line player who will be hard to match; Wellington is also from Warracknabeal in the Wimmera Football League.
Ex locals Taylor Donnan and Leighton Hateley have returned to Hopetoun while Darcy Renkin and Tom Pridgeon only played one game each last season before being struck down with injury and have also committed to the Devils. Jackson Fisher and Coleman Schache will be available when not on TAC/VFL duties.
Players to move on include Kain Robins, Anthony Baker, Luke Milroy, Chris Heath, Jake Roberts and Quentin Jones.
With a solid pre season that has seen plenty of numbers on the track and welcoming some strong recruits plus their exciting younger boys, Hopetoun hope to have a good year. With greater numbers at the Club, the Devils are also hoping for a strong reserves side to back up their senior team.
Ouyen United v Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers
After featuring in senior, reserves and Under 16's Grand Finals in 2012, a strong platform has been set for continued success on and off the field for the Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers. The obvious goal for 2013 is to go one further in all grades after disappointingly going without premiership success in recent years. A win against the Ouyen United Demons in their opening match for the season will start them on their way.
United will be equally eager to win as they missed the four last year after winning the flag the year before.
‘There is a sense of excitement around the Football Netball Club,’ said United President Tony Cua, ’and we are confident we can improve in both departments. Our numbers have been fantastic at training and we continue to offer our community a family friendly environment where everyone is welcome.’
Ouyen United has lost a large number of its recent playing group. 2011 Premiership coach Ryan O’Callaghan, along with brother Adam, is heading back to Mildura to play in the Sunraysia Football League. Maeli and Paelo Felise have left the club and Red Cliffs has picked up John Jackson and Troy Moncur. Kyle Monaghan is in Adelaide with Old Ignatians, Luka Felise is another gone to Red Cliffs, Tom Grigg is now at Belmont in the Geelong League, Will Grigg will play with Ballarat and Clarendon College and Brenton Ryan is with Tooleybuc/Managatang.
New to the club or returning, are Todd Barker, Jimmy Heenan after a stint with Walpeup Underbool, Gerry Wilson is a wingman from Wanderers in the NTFL, Fel Cua returns from Maryborough Rovers, Jason Hahnel played with Bambil and Wade Brady and Cameron Munro are well known around the Club.
There will be many new faces at Tigerland this season and it is great to see some others returning to their home club. The on ground leadership group will remain fairly consistent with Jarrod Arentz and Joe Summerhayes coaching the senior group jointly, Stephen Lyons has taken on an assistant coaching role, Phil Cox will lead the reserves and Matt Elliott will again lead the Under 16s.
After the Christmas break, preseason cranked up on January 23rd. Training throughout February was three nights a week with Monday and Wednesday in Sea Lake and Friday in town groups. Now that March has arrived, training is back to the normal Tuesday and Thursday nights with practice matches against Tyntynder under lights, Boort and Lalbert Football Clubs.
Beulah has the bye this week. They will be looking to have another strong season in the seniors and reserves this year with good numbers attending the majority of training sessions. Coaches for the year are Gareth Hose and Tom Hallam and they have bought new life and skills to the playing group. Dennis Redden will be a big pick up for Beulah, with a couple of other strong players being sought after as well. There have been minor player losses from last year’s team.
Like several other Clubs, the Blues now have a lot of players who have played senior footy and they will look to youngsters Kai Forsyth, Tim Sandford and Tim Phelan to play solid consistent footy in their step up to senior football. The Beulah oval is in fantastic condition and will be set for a great day when they meet Jeparit/Rainbow in their first match of the season on April 14th.
Last Modified on 06/04/2013 18:33
