THE Lower South East will be well represented on the Adelaide Oval tomorrow prior to kick off in the AFL fixture between the Crows and Melbourne.
The state country contest will serve as a curtain-raiser, with the South Australian Country side set to host its Western Australian counterpart.
The WA side claimed the win last year and the hosts will look to return serve this time around.
Coach Luke Duncan said his side looks strong this year, with a big focus on reclaiming the ascendancy between the two states.
“Dropping that one last year has certainly increased our appetite,” he said.
“One quarter of football cost us.
“We played three good quarters, but the third quarter it got away from us.
“This year we will look at ways to maintain the focus of the players so we don’t have any lapses throughout the game.”
Much of that focus will be in the mid-field, where the WA side slaughtered the SA side in that third quarter, with seven clearances to one.
That will include the likes of Millicent’s Tom Hutchesson and Clint Gallio, along with Penola’s Simon Berkefeld, who was named co-vice captain.
The Eagles will also be represented by Scott Merrett, who will run off the back half and provide plenty of tough defensive pressure and forward momentum.
“Simon Berkefeld has has been racking up plenty of possessions through the mid-field for Penola and is proven at this level,” Duncan said.
“He is certainly one to watch.
“Tom Hutchesson has come into the side with some pretty big raps, while Clint Gallio is obviously quality.
“We will have him roaming around the forward line as well and hope he kicks a couple of goals for us.
“Scott Merrett is having a good season for Penola and is good one-on-one.
“He will give us some good rebound off the half back line.”
To add to those four players will be Keith’s Ben Simounds and Billy Laurie, along with Kybybolite’s Matthew Tonkin.
“We are very happy with the side we picked,” Duncan said.
“There are some good players with plenty of experience at a higher level.
“We shook up our backline this year and it looks very strong.
“We have a good mixture of inside ball winners and outside runners, plus some good tall targets up forward who have been in good form for their clubs.”
With the game set down as the curtain-raiser to the AFL clash, Duncan said the players were all keen to get involved.
“I don’t think you could get a better deck to play on than the Adelaide Oval,” he said.
“It is beautiful out there.
“It will be great to have the curtain-raiser for the AFL game.
“All the players are super excited.”
The team was only finalised on Sunday, after the domestic round competitions were complete, with just six players retained from last year’s line up.
The side consists of a healthy mix of players, which should provide good balance and every chance to regain the bragging rights between the two states.
The players will get together tonight for a light training run, prior to tomorrow’s kick off at around 4pm.
