By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
INTERLEAGUE 2016
FROM the races at Cranbourne, to the big stage of Moonee Valley on a Saturday – that’s how returning Ellinbank and District Football League (EDFL) interleague coach Aussie Jones compares the old WorkSafe Country Championships to the new set-up, incorporating metro leagues with their country brothers.
This year, the best the EDFL has to offer will head to Lyndhurst to tackle the might of three-division Southern Football League (SFL) and Jones can’t wait.
He has his initial 60-plus man squad at his disposal, and that will be dwindled down over the coming weeks until a final side is announced.
But from the names available, he’s confident of yet another strong showing.
The EDFL soundly beat Maryborough Castlemaine by 45 points last year, in the wake of other strong showings in the years prior against Mid Gippsland and Alberton.
But this is a new challenge – one Jones, who is no longer actively involved in clubland, can’t wait to get his teeth stuck into.
“Anyone who played last year, in that group, would be able to talk about what a positive experience it was and what they got out of it,” he said.
“We’d expect to pick our best side closer to the date, but there’ll be some older bodies who’re absolutely screaming out for a break and we’re not going to force anyone into it.
“I want a group that’s all-in for interleague, and we’ll get a better result from that anyway.”
For Jones, it’s not just about picking the 22 biggest names in the EDFL. It’s about picking the best overall team.
“The back six will actually be defenders, or the sixth might be someone who’s pretty flexible,” he said.
“I’m also big on playing a big forward who can ruck, so we’ll be looking for someone like that rather than a genuine second ruck.
“We’ve got some quality deep goal kickers as well – Mitch Collins has come into the league this year, and you’ve got Ryan Gillis, and Jay Wells from the Dusties who loved it last year.”
Jones said he’d love to see every senior EDFL coach buy-in to the interleague selection process as they’d reap the benefits over the rest of the season.
“A young kid, a 19 or 20 year old, might be 10 per cent better after an interleague campaign,” he said.
“I think they should all support it. The top sides have and they’ve all shown why – it’s shown in their results.
“If you’re a young midfielder – let’s use Tyson Payne from Garfield as an example, who was bloody good in his own right last season – if he didn’t learn something from Ricky (Clark) or Tye (Holland) I’d be very surprised.
“Then you throw Shane Brewster into the mix and if you’re a young midfielder mixing in with them you’re going to become a better player.”
Jones said Clark, one of the most accomplished footballers the Football liftout has covered, had again put his hand up to play this year.
“At any one stage we’re going to have two of him, Holland and Brewster running through the middle,” he said.
“They might be older but when you look at the midfielders who dominate in the AFL, there’s the craftiness that Sam Mitchell has built over time and these boys have that in spades.”
As for the difference in competition set-up this season, Jones said it had a completely different feel.
“With the country rankings, you know roughly how the opposition side is going to shape up,” he said.
“Normally the margin wouldn’t be a huge blowout either way, but this year it’s a real unknown.
“The governing body would have looked at it and pitted us against the Southern footy league thinking it’s about square, but it’s really an unknown on the professionalism of metro footy versus country footy.
“We’ll find out pretty quick.”
Travis Marsham and Bunyip player-coach Brad Walker will again reprise their roles as interleague assistants to Jones, alongside new playing-assistant Brewster.
Jones wouldn’t be drawn on the makeup of his final squad, but suggested Cobras small forward Anthony Giuliano could be a possible inclusion, along with Neerim South gun Chris Urie.
Urie’s Cats team mate Darren Ratten will again coach the Under 18 interleague side this year. Like Jones, he can’t wait for the chance to do it all again.
“The SFL has a bit more of a pool of kids to choose from, but I still think there’ll be five to six genuine guns in either side,” he said.
“Over the past couple of years our side hasn’t been overly tall but this year there’s a good spread to choose from.”
SFL coach Ben Lockwood said the new interleague format “definitely” favoured his side, as opposed to the old metro set-up.
He said his side’s chances of success would all come down to how well they ‘buy in’.
“It’ll be about how much we can gel and bond together,” he said.
“The country leagues are typically a little bit better – a bit more tightknit – when it comes to camaraderie.
The SFL side will have representatives from Divisions 1, 2 and 3. Lockwood said the gap between the top two tiers was as tight as ever.
“But we won’t be the biggest side,” he said.
“We’ll probably be smaller than the EDFL and use our running game.
“Lyndhurst is a big ground and we know we have to pick our side accordingly.
“We’re under no illusions – we know their quality. We fully expect them to be sharp and probably a bit bigger, but we’ll bring speed and real outside run.”
The SFL and EDFL will face off from 2.30pm at Marriott Waters Reserve in Lyndhurst on 21 May.
