Roos tackle Bulldogs for top honours in WBFL season opener

Sam Zeitz Crop Dsc 8859  TBW Newsgroup
BACK IN ACTION: West Gambier's Sam Zeitz and the remainder of the bolstered Roos roster will be out to taste round one victory when they host East Gambier at Malseed Park tomorrow.

Sam Zeitz Crop Dsc 8859 TBW Newsgroup
BACK IN ACTION: West Gambier’s Sam Zeitz and the remainder of the bolstered Roos roster will be out to taste round one victory when they host East Gambier at Malseed Park tomorrow.

WITH Western Border football set to kick off tomorrow, one game stands out as the match of the round.

West Gambier hosts East Gambier at Malseed Park, in what should be a cracker of a match.

The Bulldogs finished runners-up in the league last season, while the Roos were bundled out in the semi-finals – by East.

No doubt West will want to correct that blemish with a big win tomorrow.

West is one club which has recruited well over the off-season, which should go well towards strengthening the growing roster.

Recent seasons have seen a concentration on young players coming through the ranks.

This year sees more players don the red and blue, with a real chance to go deeper into the post-season.

However, the Bulldogs would surely be focused on that grand final result, where they let Millicent out to an early lead and could not close it down.

They came close – just four points at the final siren – but that may well have hurt even more.

Despite reaching the grand final, 2018 saw many ups and downs for East.

Inconsistent performances in the minor rounds suggested they may not have been up to the task of defending their 2017 title.

That was the case in the end, but how much of that grand final performance could have been put down to those inconsistent weeks?

Had the Bulldogs hit the ground running in the opening term, the history books could well read a lot differently.

In contrast West became the giant killer, looking every bit a danger through the minor rounds.

The lack of depth did not help, with several games seeing no fit bodies left on the bench.

But that has been somewhat accounted for this year.

Kynan Betts is the main out for the club, while Michael Minuzzo and Ben Papps are two big pick ups, both from Blackwood in the Hills Football League.

The list goes on, with Tantanoola’s Jordan Williams on board and Jordan Zeitz set to play alongside brothers Tom and Sam.

Garret Ha, Jackson Lock, Brandon Kranz and Jett Attard have all returned, while Dwayne Phillips completes the list.

It equates to one of the biggest movements in the league and is sure to bode well for West’s premiership aspirations.

Add to the list the class of coach Brad Wilson, on-baller Tom Holmes and hard runner Lawry Bradley-Brown – to name just a few – and the Roos look good.

How it comes together – and who will actually line up – will certainly be put to the test tomorrow.

While East has lost a few players from its 2018 lineup, the majority are still in place.

Matt Scanlon is back for the full season this time around and will certainly have a fire in his belly.

He took the Bulldogs to their last premiership alongside current coach Matt Willson and will want to taste that success again.

However, on paper West appears to have the personnel to succeed tomorrow.

They claimed a big win over East last year in round four to the tune of 36 points, then went down by 30 in round eight.

In the final clash of the two sides in the minor rounds West succumbed again, but by just a solitary point, then the Bulldogs had the last laugh in the first semi-final.

However, West did not have the depth which seems to be at Malseed Park this year, so may well come out firing.

If the Bulldogs’ pain from the 2018 grand final can be harnessed, they should come out with all guns blazing and set the record straight, but on the Roos’ home turf it will be a tall ask.

The rejuvenated West should claim the win in an intense battle.