Goulburn Valley: Echuca takes on Albury and Sandhurst in practice matches

Country footy practice matches are in full swing ahead of an Easter season opener for some leagues. See who the best team in the GV last year will play in the next two weeks.

Reigning premiers Echuca will fine tune its preparations for the Goulburn Valley league season with hit-outs against the runners-up in the Ovens and Murray and Bendigo leagues over the next two weeks.

In a deliberate strategy not to play another GV club before the season, Echuca will travel to Albury on Saturday before taking on Sandhurst the following week.

Echuca plays its first GV match against Mansfield on Easter Saturday.

“I have never really understood why clubs promote who they’ve recruited and who they’ve retained,” Echuca co-coach Andrew Walker said.

“If you are showing everyone your cards, then you are starting behind the eight-ball.

“It also goes with playing clubs outside your league in practice matches.

“You need to keep evolving, and if you show your hand, I personally think you’ve had round one before round one.”

POLL: What is the best approach for country footy clubs in deciding who to play pre-season matches against? @weeklytimes@ctryfootyscores

— David Johnston (@david_johnston5) March 13, 2024

Echuca is aiming to become the first GV club since Seymour in the mid-2000s to win three successive premierships after beating Kyabram and Euroa in the last two grand finals.

Echuca is widely regarded as one of the strongest country clubs in the state under the co-coaching set-up of Walker and Simon Maddox.

It has kept its player losses to a minimum since last year and will have talented brothers Gus and Hugh Byrne playing on a permanent basis this season.

Gus Byrne playing for Geelong VFL team in 2022. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Gus captained the Geelong VFL team last year and Hugh was a regular with the Bendigo Pioneers.

“We’ve purely focused on retention,” he said.

“We’ve had our under-18s play in grand finals basically every year since I’ve been at the club.”

It has three players - Logan Prout, AJ Mills and Sam Willoughby - on VFL club lists this year.

Walker, 37, underwent osteotomy surgery on his leg at the end of last season after playing only six games and is unlikely to play in 2024.

He hurt his calf early last year and didn’t play between mid-July and the grand final.

The former Carlton player’s son Cody, who is an under-16 All Australian and Blues’ father-son prospect, could make his senior debut for Echuca at some stage in 2024.

Andew Walker has co-coached Echuca to the last two Goulburn Valley league flags with Simon Maddox. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Albury played O&M rival Wangaratta Rovers last Saturday with recruits Matt Walker and Jackson Kelly in the line-up.

Walker, who famously made his debut for Albury in a premiership in 2018, kicked two goals before finishing the match with his ankle iced up.

Albury co-coach Shaun Daly, who didn’t play last year, was a surprise starter in the hitout against Rovers.

Former Carlton player Lochie O’Brien, who is one of the biggest name recruits in the O&M this season, kicked two goals for Wangaratta Rovers.