Local footy: Dane Swan and Simon Goosey team up in practice match

Country footy great 54-year-old Simon Goosey made a surprise appearance for St Kilda City alongside Dane Swan in a practice match at Crib Point.

Dane Swan and Simon Goosey played for St Kilda City in a practice match on Saturday.

It was the first big surprise of the local footy season.

Spectators at Crib Point on Saturday had to look twice when legendary country goalkicker Simon Goosey ran out with St Kilda City in a practice match.

At 54, and 12 years after hanging up the boots (and four years after a hip replacement), the Goose was back in the game.

But it was a one-off; Goosey has recently joined St Kilda City as an assistant coach and was simply filling in on Saturday.

“I was only helping out,” Goosey said.

“We had that many blokes out.

“I played not even a half.”

Simon Goosey.

St Kilda City was missing 10 regular senior players, including Aaron Edwards, for its first practice match.

“I think four blokes had to play two games,” Goosey said.

“I just said, ‘we can’t do that to the boys’, so for a half I just rotated a little bit...just to help with a bit of structure. That was all.”

Goosey played alongside Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, and admitted it was a thrill.

“It was. He’s a good fella,” he said.

“I’ve been impressed with Swanny, he trains, puts in.”

Crib Point won the game convincingly and Goosey said the Magpies were in for a much improved season in MPFNL Division 2.

“They look ready to play for next week, I think that was their third practice match,” he said.

“I was pretty impressed with them last year...they press up well, so defensively they were really good.

“I know when Warwick (Miller) went there last year he brought the press in. And they just did it a lot better (on Saturday), you could see they’re another year down the track, they’ve obviously been training it.

“I thought they were pretty even, the way they structured up was a credit to them because they teamed together well.”

Crib Point host Somerville in the season opener on Saturday.

St Kilda City doesn’t kick off its Southern league Division 1 campaign until April 15. The Saints will play another practice match next weekend, against Nick Jewell’s East Brighton.