TWO of 2011’s heavyweights will do battle to open season 2012 when last year’s preliminary finalist Werribee take on semi finalist North Ballarat at Eureka Stadium on Saturday, as Samantha Landy reports.
With the teams hard to split, this match is sure to be a beauty.
The Roosters will have some extra incentive to take the points in this match, with premiership defender Michael Searl playing his 100th senior game for the club.
North Ballarat coach Gerard FitzGerald had only praise for the centre-half back, who has returned to Eureka Stadium after two years working as a teacher in London.
“He’s played for the state and he’s been a terrific player for us,” FitzGerald said.
“I’m really happy to have seen Michael develop on and off the field.”
Searl has returned at a crucial time, with North Ballarat’s defence stocks labouring after the departure of premiership defender Matt Sharkey, who is taking a break from the Peter Jackson VFL, and with young backman Marcus Darmody forced to sit out the first few rounds due to a ruptured blood vessel.
FitzGerald is also thrilled to welcome back key forward and “very good player” Paul McMahon, who will play his first senior game for the club after a two season stint with Ballarat Football League club Lake Wendouree.
However the Roosters will undoubtedly miss decorated ruckman Orren Stephenson, who was drafted by Geelong over summer.
The coach admitted his team had been dealt a tough opponent in fellow North Melbourne affiliate Werribee first up, but was mainly excited about the start of another Peter Jackson VFL season – his sixth as senior coach.
"I’m looking forward it, like everyone (in the competition) would be,” he said.
“It’ll be great having a game at home first up.”
“(This game) is also a very, very good example of an AFL-VFL relationship, with a couple of the North Melbourne boys playing on both sides.”
The Tigers – who will begin their assault on their first FOXTEL Cup in April against Tasmanian side Burnie – could have lamented the loss of backman Brad Mangan, who was selected by North Melbourne in the rookie draft, but he will return to the club this year as a Kanga rookie. The side did however lose captain Dom Gleeson, who has taken up a playing coach position with Geelong’s VFL side. But the Tigers will be hoping their new recruits, spearheaded by former AFL players Nathan Ablett (from Gold Coast), Ben Ross (North Melbourne) and Tim Ruffles(Fremantle), will fill the void.
Werribee will also enjoy the services of North Melbourne's new rookies, namely former Port Melbourne livewire and premiership player Malcolm Lynch and ex-Box Hill captain and 2012 best and fairest winner Sam Gibson, as well as taking orders from a new coach, with Western Bulldogs legend Scott West stepping in for Paul Satterley, who has joined AFL club Melbourne as an assistant coach.
West said he was glad his first hit out as Tigers coach had finally come around.
“It’s obviously been a long pre-season,” he said.
“The anxiety has been building over the last three or four weeks since the practice matches started.
“I’m excited it’s here.”
The new coach said he has great confidence in the list his club was able to compile over summer to get over their challenging first round match up.
“Part of the battle in VFL is being able to put a good list together with the high turnover each season,” West said.
“We’re very happy to get services of Ruffles and Ablett, and we’ve also been able to put a few good kids on the list; trying to have a good eye for the future.”
West said his biggest hopes for his first season as coach were to maintain consistency throughout the season and, of course, to play finals footy.
Both sides had up-and-down pre-seasons, taking away two wins and a loss apiece. The Roosters defeated Werribee by 14 points in the first practice match, with McMahon (10 marks and a goal) and AFL-listed Aaron Black (six goals) starring.
The pair look set head up Ballarat’s new-look forward line, alongside Derek Micallef.
North Ballarat completed its pre-season with an impressive 26-point win over flag favourites Williamstown and a disappointing 59-point thrashing by Bendigo, while Werribee prevailed in two close ones, downing Sandringham by just 1 point and Coburg by a goal in its other practice matches, as well as having a solid intra-club hit out.
FitzGerald, wary of reading too much into the pre-season, said it had achieved its main purpose of getting match fitness into the Roosters boys.
“It’s hard to say (how well we went), I thought against Bendigo we had three very good quarters and one shocker, and during the other games we were ok at times,” he said.
“In our premiership year we had some terrible pre-season games, so I don’t really worry about it.”
West said his side had enjoyed “four really good hit outs” in varying conditions.
"The intra club played in good spirits, but the players went hard at it,” he said.
“It was blowing a gale at North Ballarat, we also played (against Coburg) in Craigieburn where it didn’t stop raining, and it was sunny when we played in Sandringham.”
The coach was also pleased to be able to get game time into most of his senior players.
So with both sides staking equal claim to the 2012 premiership cup at this very early stage in the season, and with both lamenting key losses, welcoming big names and completing similar pre-seasons, it seems the clubs truly are neck-a-neck.
Let’s just hope this contest is as tantalising on field as it is on paper.
Welcome back, VFL footy.
Last Modified on 23/03/2012 17:23