Bendigo Advertiser | HEATHCOTE District coach Rick Coburn will be aiming to exploit Bellarine for pace in Saturday’s AFL Victoria Community Championships clash at Ocean Grove.
The two leagues will face off in the 19 v 20 match, with Coburn and his coaching staff banking on speed as the ace up Heathcote District’s sleeve.
“We think that Bellarine will be a tall side with some strong bodies in the midfield, so if we can get them for some run on the outside, we believe that will hold us in good stead,” Coburn said on Friday.
“We’ll try to make it a bit scrappy within the contest and then get them on the transition.”
Heathcote District will look to the likes of Blayne Ryan-Storey, Tim Lincoln, Harry Whittle, Jackson McEwan, Adam Decicco, Ryan Semmel, Jacob Greenwood, Marcus Angove and captain Braidy Dickens to generate plenty of run and carry, as well as Sam Vale and Daniel Hill off half-back.
In defence the side has four players capable of playing on key position forwards in Jordan Ford, Ryan Prendergast, Damien Carmody and Hoby Bussey, while down the other end, Danny Brewster and Ryan Hon loom as the focal points in attack, with support from Rhys Woodland and the versatile James Harney.
The ruck duties will be shared between Brett Strange and Cameron Ross.
The Bellarine side features two players – Mitch Day (Geelong Amateur) and Daniel Degois (Queenscliff) – who have both previously kicked 100 goals in a season.
“Maybe that’s not going to be a good thing for them... who is going to be the main man, and will they get in each other’s way?” Coburn said.
“We think we’ve got a solid defence, our midfield has some creativity and our forward line is probably on the smallish side, but has some flexibility to it.
“We’re confident we can perform well on Saturday against what will be strong opposition.”
Heathcote District is chasing its third-straight inter-league win, having defeated Central Murray (29 points) and Horsham District (5) the past two years.
Under-18 football and open netball games will also be played on the day.