By Paul Daffey
The Riverina-based Hume Football League has thrown plans for a shake-up of competitions in southern NSW into disarray with its unwillingness to accept four clubs from the nearby Coreen and District Football League, which is due to disband after the season.
Hume league clubs this week voted unanimously against accepting the incomers and raising its number of clubs from 11 to 15. The Hume clubs would be happy to accept nearby Coreen-Daysdale-Hopefield-Buraja United, which plays at Coreen, just north of Corowa, but they’re baulking at the proposal to accept Coleambally, a club based 230 kilometres north-west of Albury, the city where most Hume league players live.
Coreen and District league officials are to discuss their next move at a meeting this Wednesday. Two Coreen league clubs have been accepted into Victorian-based competitions next season, with Jerilderie planning to go to the Picola and District league and Wahgunyah to the Tallangatta and District league, but intervention of NSW and Victorian country officials appears likely if all Coreen league clubs are to find suitable homes.
Today’s main match in the Hume league is Henty (fourth) versus Osborne (top). Osborne forward Sam Terlich, who kicked 12 goals against Rand-Walbundrie last week, has been moved out of the goalsquare to accommodate veteran full-forward Andrew White, who is returning from a leg injury.
One of Osborne’s three Gooden brothers, Owen, is to miss the match through injury. Adam and Luke Gooden will take their places in the Cats’ midfield.
Wodonga is hoping that full-forward Darren Bradshaw, the brother of injured Brisbane Lions forward Daniel Bradshaw, continues his brilliant recent form as the Bulldogs continue on their difficult path towards the Ovens and Murray league finals.
Wodonga, which is fourth, has been scheduled to play the three teams above it—Wangaratta, Yarrawonga and North Albury—in consecutive weeks. The Bulldogs did well last week to defeat the faltering Yarrawonga, which won last year’s premiership, and today travels across the Murray River to play at Bunton Park, North Albury.
Bradshaw last week kicked three goals to bring his tally to 38 from five games. Bulldogs playing-coach Jarrod Twitt has been a welcome inclusion in recent weeks after recovering from a broken leg.
On today’s other main match in the Ovens and Murray league, which last weekend had a general bye, top team Wangaratta is hosting fifth-placed Albury. All eyes will be on Wangaratta midfielder Jon McCormick, the former Carlton midfielder who is favoured to win the Ovens and Murray league’s best-and-fairest award, the Morris Medal, after recent performances that include one match in which it he had a reported 63 possessions.
In the past two weeks, the Geelong and District league’s top team, Bannockburn, has lost to North Geelong by a point and defeated Anakie by a point. Today, there’s a chance for further drama when the Tigers travel into town to play second-placed East Geelong.
Bendigo league fans are wondering what will happen in their competition today after last week’s round threw up the biggest upset for several seasons; North Ballarat City scored its biggest win since joining the competition last year with a six-point victory over traditionally powerful Sandhurst.
North City did not win a game in its inaugural season in the Bendigo league and started this season in similarly poor fashion. But the Roosters’ promising improvement was underlined last Sunday when it led all day before holding off Sandhurst’s challenge at Bendigo’s Queen Elizabeth Oval.
The Roosters today play at Princes Park, Maryborough, where a cloud has descended on the home team over its decision to advertise its coaching position for the second successive year despite the willingness of coach Steve Thomson to continue in the role he’s held for three years.
South Bendigo last week also pulled off an upset when it defeated premiership fancy Eaglehawk by 13 points in Saturday’s match at the QEO. South, which is fourth on the ladder, today hosts another premiership fancy, Golden Square, before taking on the top team, Gisborne, next week.
Article first appeared: The Age August 11 2007
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