EDFL 2021: Westmeadows looking to take down East Keilor in Round 1

The two EDFL Division 1 contenders will meet in Saturday’s opening round as Heath Shaw makes his EDFL debut.

Westmeadow star Dean Clare fires off a handball. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Westmeadows will get the first shot at taking down flag favourite East Keilor when the pair lock horns in the opening round of the Essendon District Football League Division 1 season on Saturday.

With marquee Cougars recruit Heath Shaw confirmed to make his first appearance, a big crowd is expected at Willowbrook Reserve.

But the two clubs are also tipped to be among the premiership contenders in 2021 after both qualifying for finals two years ago.

While East Keilor has assembled the competition’s most talented list as it chases a spot in Premier Division, the fact it will be unable to field its best team this season because of the player points limit provides hope for opposition sides.

Westmeadows coach Mo Kaakour. Picture: Rob Leeson

“The guys are really looking forward to the challenge of playing the best and obviously all the hype’s been around East Keilor,” Tigers coach Mo Kaakour said.

“But we’ll give it our best shot, play to our game plan and our structures and hopefully that holds us in good stead and we can get a result in Round 1.

“Yeah, they’ve recruited well and are looking really, really good in terms of talent.

“But obviously we’ll never get to play against their best side. They can’t roll out all those recruits.

“In saying that, they are a quality outfit and well led by (coach) Pat (Christofi) and co.”

While Westmeadows has created fewer headlines than the Cougars since the end of the 2019 campaign, it has reason to be confident of a strong showing this year.

George Nabbout, Jayden Ranno (both Airport West) and Aaron Vendramini (Craigieburn) are all important inclusions and add speed to the line-up.

Daniel Callegari, Leigh Owen, Simon Collis, Mahmoud Taleb and Braydon Hardstaff have departed.

“The list is looking pretty good at the moment. Can’t fault it,” Kaakour said.

“We’ve had a pretty solid pre-season … got the guys up to a fitness level where we can compete.

“We obviously want to play finals again and that will be our aim. We’ll look to win as many games as we can early, put some in the bank and then hopefully we’re looking at finishing top four.

“Once you get there, it’s a whole different ball game.”

Westmeadows boasts the leading player in Division 1 in Robbie Castello, while the likes of Omar Saad, Mitch Church, Marwan Abdul-Wahed and Ahmed Abdul-Wahed provide constant headaches for rivals.

Kaakour said Castello was in top shape after claiming the Hutchison Medal in 2019.

“He’s 35 years of age and probably the fittest he’s ever been,” he said.

“Just chatting to him, his body feels really good and just the leadership around the younger group is enormous for us.”

Christofi said he expected a difficult contest away from home.

“They’re a formidable unit and they’re well coached. Mo’s a great leader and a great mentor,” he said.

“You would think playing (at home), they should be favourite.

“That’s going to be a tough test for us in Round 1, but we’re up for it.”