James Murphy
The region’s top football talent will join forces for the annual SA Country Championships this weekend as part of the South East Zone team.
This year the event is hosted in Whyalla this Saturday and Sunday, with strong competition expected against the five rival zones from across regional South Australia.
The South East team was announced this week, with a good mix of representation across the Western Border, Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara and Mid South East football leagues.
Zone classifications have changed slightly to previous years and the South East Zone has been separated from the River Murray Football Leagues.
Robe’s Jack Kelly has taken on the head coach role and will be assisted by KNTFL’s Nick Davis and MSEFL’s Ben McGregor.
He looks forward to the carnival and a chance to show off the South East talent on the representative stage.
“I am really excited for the squad we have put together,” Kelly said.
“We have definitely filled it with a really competitive group, which is a younger group as well.
“Funnily enough in the squad of 24 there are eight blokes from KNT, eight from Mid South East and eight from Western Border, which is really good.”
From a club point of view Kalangadoo boasts the most representation, with five players named in the side from the Mid South East ladder leaders.
Western Border frontrunners South Gambier and Millicent also have a strong selection.
The Demons have James Paprotny, Brayden Kain and young-gun Todd Reid in the ranks, while Saints Jacob Carger, Dylan Bromley and Frazer Bradley will test their skills at the higher level.
Naracoorte’s Matt Willson is no stranger to zone football and he will captain the team.
Kelly expects big things from him, while Bordertown’s Tom Whittlesea and North Gambier’s Nick McInerney have been named vice captains.
Whittlesea will line up in the forward line, while McInerney can be expected to put his class to the test through the midfield.
A handful of first-timers to the zone stage will also be ones to watch.
“We have some first-time zone representation, with Lawry Bradley-Brown from West Gambier and Patt Davies from Kalangadoo,” Kelly said.
“I am really excited to see how those two go at that level.
“Frazer Bradley out on a wing from Millicent, it is his first time representing as well.
“He just oozes class and talent, so I am looking forward to seeing how he goes.”
Kelly was announced as coach for the zone team prior to the Interleague carnival and has had plenty of time to survey the three competitions for suitable talent.
He is no stranger to the zone level himself and has plenty of knowledge of the South East football scene.
“I have played a little bit of rep footy over the last six or seven years and I know most of the blokes,” he said.
“The South East isn’t a very big place, so you get to know people and if you don’t know them directly, you know of them.
“Knowing I was coaching a couple of months ago, I have been keeping up with the results to check out some guys who I maybe didn’t know a huge amount about.
“It has been a really enjoyable process so far.”
The current format of the Limestone Coast Regional Interleague Carnival had Western Border rotated out of the event this year, which posed difficulties for selecting players from the league.
However, Kelly said he and his informatives have kept a close eye on the competition to ensure the best choices were made.
“I have been really hot on the phone,” he said.
“I have had a lot of people – Steve Duldig and Clint Gallio at Millicent and Scott Duncan as well.
“I have been speaking to most of the Western Border coaches just to check in and see how guys are going.
“We are going on true form and a bit of reputation.
“I think we have picked the right squad and the right bunch of blokes to take away to Whyalla this week.”
Kelly said it is difficult to know what his team will be up against, with rival zones a bit of an unknown.
“It is hard to know what other zones are up to this time of year, but I think we will be right in the mix,” he said.
Saturday will see South East contest two minor-round games, with the first against the Eastern Zone at 10.25am, while its second will be against Northern at 2.25pm.
From there the competition progresses to finals on Sunday, which leaves little room for error.
As such the focus will be on a quick start to try and kick off the championships on the front foot.
Kelly said he was honoured to have the opportunity to coach the South East Zone team and looks forward to seeing what the team can produce over the weekend.
SOUTH EAST ZONE TEAM
Millicent: Jacob Carger, Dylan Bromley, Frazer Bradley (Under 21); North Gambier: Nick McInerney (Vice Captain); South Gambier: Todd Reid, James Paprotny, Brayden Kain; West Gambier: Lawry Bradley-Brown; Kalangadoo: Mitch Lowe, Tye McManus (Under 21), Andrew Stone, Ben Gregory, Pat Davies; Mount Burr: Sam Wallis; Hatherleigh: Mark Marriott; Glencoe: Dylan Childs; Bordertown: Tom Whittlesea (Vice Captain), Lochie Eats, Jacob Eats; Penola: Brad Bryant; Mundulla: Tom Gaden, Darcy King; Naracoorte: Matt Willson (Captain); Kingston: Todd Lockwood; Emergencies: Kade Bradley (Millicent), Jake Schutz (North Gambier), Nathan McCarthy (Padthaway – Under 21).
