By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Ellinbank and District Football League’s preliminary interleague squad reads as an absolute who’s who of the best players from across the competition.
And coach Aussie Jones is preparing as if they’ll all be available to play.
He’s undoubtedly excited at the opportunity that lies ahead of the group which will be out to replicate the sort of form that saw the 2013 and 2014 groups produce a pair of big wins against Alberton and Mid Gippsland.
Former interleague captain Shane Brewster has again been selected in the initial squad as have champion Cora Lynn midfielder Ricky Clark, last year’s league best and fairest winners Luke Walker and Tye Holland, and Nar Nar Goon running machine Brendan Hermann.
And ominously for the EDFL’s Maryborough Castlemaine opponents, Kris Fletcher, Justin Berry and Shaun Marusic are also in line to play as are Chris Urie, Danny Wells and Jason Wells, who represented the Alberton league last year in its one-point win over Riddell District.
Every EDFL club has been represented in this year’s interleague initial list, which will be gradually cut back in the weeks leading up to the game at Princes Park in Maryborough on 23 May.
The EDFL is currently ranked 24th on the VCFL rankings but is hell-bent on breaking into the top 20 in the coming seasons.
“The league has been really supportive and wants to make sure all the clubs support it,” Jones said.
“(And) I’m a big believer in blokes playing at the highest level they can, and then taking that experience back to club level.”
The 226-game former St Kilda star is no stranger to representative coaching and was an assistant to Damian Carroll for the VFL side while at the helm of Bendigo last year.
He knows full well what the likes of Berry and Walker are capable of, having seen the latter up close turn in an absolutely sensational performance in the 2007 Casey Cardinia grand final when he was at Narre Warren and Walker at Pakenham.
And one of the most exciting aspects of this year’s side, for Jones, will be its versatility – with champion midfielders that can also fill roles across half-forward and half-back.
“The likes of (Shane) Brewster, (Luke) Walker and Ricky (Clark) are all in ripping form, too, so we’ll clearly have a quality, experienced side,” Jones said.
“There’ll also be some guys who haven’t played at the level before, but they won’t be nervous with some of these other blokes around them.”
Jones said he learned plenty from Carroll last season, such as the importance of not treating the interleague fixture as a kind of all-star game where defence falls by the wayside.
“I’m an attacking coach but you need a defensive mindset to win,” he said.
“The boys have won a couple of these games in a row now but they don’t want to slide back – the challenge is there to keep climbing the ladder and break into that top 20.”
2015 EDFL PRELIMINARY INTERLEAGUE SQUAD
Buln Buln
Matt Gray
Tyson Bale
Mitch Nobelius
Tim Higgins
Trent Baker
Bunyip
Michael Whyte
Nathan Lieshout
Lachlan Petch
Kris Fletcher
Brad Walker
Brent Heus
Zac Vansittart
Jack Blakey
Catani
Owen Fitzpatrick
Cora Lynn
Ricky Clark
Nathan Muratore
Tim Payne
Jackson Dalton
Jeremy Monckton
Ryan Gillis
Nathan Langley
Ellinbank
Cory Bevan
Shaun Phelan
Garfield
Justin Berry
Ned Marsh
Darcy Payne
Tyson Payne
Adam MacGibbon
Will Collis
Kooweerup
Luke Walker
Shaun Marusic
Ben Miller
Tim Miller
Craig Dyker
Lang Lang
Aaron Creasey
Felix Dunn
Kurt Batt
Longwarry
Tye Holland
Aaron Serong
Semir Zijai
Nick Walsh
Nar Nar Goon
Brendan Hermann
Brent Hughes
Matt Stevens
Mat Slattery
Neerim Neerim South
Calum Shiels
Chris Urie
Mick Urie
Jack Griffiths
Tyssen Morrow
Nilma Darnum
Danny Wells
Jason Wells
Zeke Lamb
Harley Lacunes
Nyora
Dylan Heylen
Nick Carrigy
Poowong
Clinton Rowe
Warragul Industrials
Shane Brewster
Jayden Steers
Chris Robinson
