James Murphy
STATE bragging rights were on the line on Saturday for the annual SA Country v WA Country football match in Perth.
There was a splash of Western Border flavour in the SA lineup, with Millicent’s Clint Gallio and Kade Varcoe representing the league.
They joined Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara’s Matt Willson, Campbell Watts and Rory Taggert from the Limestone Coast cohort, as they made the westward journey to play at Optus Stadium.
There they met a strong WA outfit and ultimately went down by 45 points.
That was credit to a fast start from the home side, with the Croweaters playing catch-up football in the second half.
A solid third quarter reeled in the margin somewhat, but the margin remained at 29 points at the final change.
When WA kicked the first goal of the fourth the writing was on the wall and in the end SA was defeated by seven goals.
However, that did not take away from the occasion and for Gallio it remained an enjoyable experience.
“It is obviously exciting when you are travelling to play footy like that at a high level with a good group of players,” he said.
“You have the flight, the hotel and the bonding – you have tea together and all that sort of stuff.
“Then you rock up to Optus Stadium and to walk out onto an oval like that is just unreal.
“I am pretty lucky to have played on an oval like that, but the whole experience was pretty cool.”
He said the Western Australian side was filled with talent which made for an exciting challenge.
“Probably 70-75 per cent of their blokes had played WAFL at some stage and they had a couple who had been on AFL lists before,” Gallio said.
“They started really well and they got some good numbers around the contest and then they were able to spread and run really hard.
“We found ourselves chasing a lot.
“Credit to them, they played a really exciting brand of footy.”
It was Gallio’s second taste of the state v state clash, having played in 2018 when it was held at Adelaide Oval.
“It is pretty awesome to represent your state,” he said.
“I feel like the surface at Adelaide Oval was probably a touch better, but the stadium at Optus is pretty hard to beat.”
Gallio was part of the midfield rotation and said he was satisfied with his individual performance.
“I felt like when I was out there I held my own which was nice, but it was a completely different style to your club footy,” he said.
“I felt like I did myself good.”
For Varcoe it was a completely new experience and one which would not have been taken for granted.
“As a 19-year-old kid it is pretty cool to be considered and then to be picked to play is even better,” Gallio said.
“He went through the midfield and then in the second half went through the backline.
“I thought he played really well and was probably amongst some of our best players which is a credit to him.”
Varcoe has become an integral part of the Millicent A Grade side as it strives for a three-peat and the young-gun has taken his football to new heights this season.
“He has had a really good year and he really fitted in at that (state) level,” Gallio said.
“I think he did himself, the club and the state quite proud.”
The duo return to the local competition this week where the Saints visit North Gambier for the Western Border match of the round.
