AFL Outer East: Despite a few injuries, new league ready to make its debut against Bendigo Football League
Despite the usual ins and outs that go with marshalling a representative side, rep coach Nick Rutley is confident the AFL Outer-East line-up will be in pretty good nick when it makes its interleague debut this weekend.
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Despite the usual ins and outs that go with marshalling a representative side, rep coach Nick Rutley is confident the AFL Outer-East line-up will be in pretty good nick when it makes its interleague debut this weekend.
The league, in its first season since the partnership of AFL Yarra Ranges and the South-East Football Netball League will tackle the Bendigo Football League in its AFL Victoria Community Championships clash at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo on Saturday.
MORE AFL OUTER EAST NEWS
“We’re battling a bit with injury and unavailability,” Rutley said. “Even up to tonight we’re a bit in the lap of the gods.”
And he could lose a couple more before Saturday with a number of VFL-listed players a chance to get a state league call-up over the weekend.
“But we’ve got so much depth, we’re still taking a really good footy team,” he said.
When he first took the role as rep coach, Rutley said there was big opportunity to bring the two leagues together during the early stages of the marriage.
And while a lot of the players are still new to each other, Rutley said the skill level and self-confidence of the group had made it a lot easier to get things going on the training track.
“They’re typical footballers and they are really good footballers,” he said. “They have healthy egos, but not in an overbearing way.
“(At training) the ball just hums around and it’s really good to watch.
“A lot of them have been VFL-listed and have come through TAC Cup.
“We’ve tried to give them a bit of a blank canvas (to go out and play). We’ve given them a basic strategy so at least they go out there with something.”
Rutley said most leagues were in a similar position with final squads still up in there.
As such, he wasn’t certain what Bendigo would throw into the mix this weekend.
“We’ve been watching the Hampden v Bendigo game from last year and it’s a really good standard of footy,” he said. “I don’t think there will be a lot of defence.
“It’s funny for me being defence-first when I was at Wandin but these guys are full out attack, which is awesome to watch. We’re definitely going to be a good kicking team.”
To help the team bond, the AFL Outer-East will travel to Bendigo on something of a footballing caravan.
“We’ve got the bus leaving Beaconsfield to take that contingent,” Rutley said. “And then it’s off to Woori Yallock to pick up the Yarra Valley boys.”
AFL Outer-East Squad (to be finalised at training tonight)
Brandon Osborne (Cranbourne, co-captain), Marcus Hottes (Olinda Ferny Creek, co-captain), Hayden Smith (Woori Yallock), Trent Thomas (Berwick), Jake Roe-Duggan (Healesville), Riley Verbi (Beaconsfield), Patrick Bruzzese (Wandin), Lachlan Batten (Doveton), Ryan Quirk (Narre Warren), Ashley Smith (Berwick), Harrison Money (Berwick), Luke Bee-Hugo (Cranbourne), Tim Gunn (Berwick), Zach Monkhorst (Woori Yallock), Kirk Dickson (Cranbourne), Jack Griffiths (Beaconsfield), Ryan Jones (Cranbourne), Lachlan Taylor (Olinda Ferny Creek), Joseph West (Berwick), William Arthurson (Berwick), Dillan Bass (Cranbourne), Glenn Osborne (Cranbourne), Patrick Hodgett (Wandin), Matthew Clarke (Officer), Ryan Bromley (Beaconsfield), Anthony Vella (Cranbourne), Corey Ellison (Cranbourne) and Michael Wenn (Cranbourne).
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