Kory Beard leading Marble Range towards Port Lincoln Football League preliminary final
Marble Range coach Boyd West believes the Magpies have every chance of taking out this year’s Port Lincoln Football League flag, led by their star and recently crowned Mail Medallist.
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Marble Range coach Boyd West believes his Magpies have what it takes to beat anyone in the Port Lincoln Football League ahead of their big preliminary final clash against Tasman on Saturday.
Off the back of last weekend’s thrilling semi-final win over Lincoln South, West said his side’s character shone through.
The Magpies were also buoyed midweek when star man Kory Beard took out the Mail Medal for the league’s best and fairest.
“We’re excited by the proposition of testing ourselves against the reigning premiers,” West said.
“We anticipate that Tasmans will present a full strength team, but we are a hungry and driven group who want to compete against the best of the best and it would be a travesty if injuries prevented us from that challenge.
“As both individuals and as a group in our abilities and as a consequence we will endeavour to play with the intensity our supporters deserve.”
The Magpies and Roosters will face off to decide who will face Wayback in the grand final.
While this weekends match is on a lot of the players minds, West also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge Beard’s tremendous season.
Beard polled 10 votes to claim Marble Range’s first Mail Medal since 2008, edging out Wayback’s Shaun Maxfield by just one vote.
“It’s been a long time coming,” West said.
“Since Kory has been back he has been phenomenal every year he’s played and certainly one of the top five best players in the league every single year.
“It’s just rewards for the type of player that he is and the commitment that he has given to not only Marble Range but the Eyre Peninsula as a whole, he gives a lot back.”
Beard joined the Magpies after retiring from SANFL football in 2017 following back-to-back premierships with Sturt.
Admitting the group was taking it one day at a time, West said that the grand final was well within the Magpies’ reach if they continue to hit their stride.
“If we can maintain our momentum, then there’s no barriers on what we can achieve as a group.
“We have had that belief the whole time throughout the season and it’s starting to come to fruition through our success and our winning, we are confident against whoever we come up against.”