By Paul Daffey
Jon McCormick, the former Carlton midfielder and current Wangaratta star who’s the hot favourite to win this year’s Morris Medal in the Ovens and Murray Football League, is only an outside chance to play again this season after damaging his collarbone during last week’s loss to Wodonga.
Wangaratta president Paul Challman said McCormick might be able to return in the grand final if the Magpies make it, which appears likely. The Magpies go into today’s final-round match at Yarrawonga, which is second on the ladder, unable to lose top spot.
According to Challman, McCormick’s phenomenal ability to win the ball—in a mid-season purple patch, he picked up more than 55 possessions in three consecutive games—has made him a target of opposition players. McCormick had picked up 42 possessions early in the last quarter last week when he was crunched just after handballing while low to the ground.
McCormick, a teacher at the Rutherglen high school, had a plate inserted in the collarbone region on Monday.
The Magpies will be strengthened today by the return of former Northern Bullants pair Ed Clarke (suspension) and Sam Higgs (hamstring) as well as Jai Canny (broken jaw).
Today’s other big match in the Ovens and Murray league is Wangaratta Rovers (fourth) versus North Albury (third).
Mark Davies played more than 300 games at Numurkah and is the Murray league club’s games record-holder. So it came as an enormous shock to Davies when his son Matt announced before the season that he was joining Nathalia, Numurkah’s arch-rival.
Such is the rivalry between the Nathalia and Numurkah football clubs that the 25 kilometres between the towns is said to be the longest 25 kilometres in Victoria. Nobody could remember a footballer crossing between the two clubs before Matt’s decision to swap.
Davies made his senior debut with Numurkah in 2004, when he was 15. He said he went to Nathalia before this season because he wanted a change.
His girlfriend, Sheridan Fullajer, lives in Nathalia and he knows plenty of Purples players from schooldays at St Mary’s of the Angels in Nathalia. The 18-year-old said Nathalia’s success in winning the past two premierships had nothing to do with his decision.
The Purples this year are undefeated while Numurkah is ninth.
Davis, who plays as a small forward and in the midfield, said former teammates had “roughed him up a bit” during the first clash between the teams this season. “But I expected that.”
He said he was average in that game, but hopes to improve in tomorrow’s match, which is at Nathalia. His father will be in the crowd, just as he has been at every Nathalia game this season.
Ardmona and Stanhope today will play the most anticipated home-and-away game in the Kyabram and District league for several years. The order of the competition’s top four teams (Stanhope, Violet Town, Ardmona and Tallygaroopna) cannot change after today’s final round, but results should determine premiership favouritism.
Ardmona full-forward Perry Meka goes into the match with 93 goals, having kicked three goals in the Cats’ loss to Tallygaroopna in their last game, while Stanhope full-forward Aaron James, the former Collingwood, Richmond and Footscray player, has kicked 10 gaols in each of his games for his new club.
James, who missed the first 15 games though a suspension imposed in another competition, kicked 10 goals against Undera and 10 in last week’s thrashing of Tallygaroopna. Ardmona had the bye last week.
Stanhope’s recruitment of James appears to be an insurance against the events of the last two seasons. In 2005 Stanhope lost the grand final to Tallygaroopna by a point; last year it lost to Ardmona by two points.
Tallygarooona today plays sixth-place Rushworth while Violet Town plays lowly Girgarre. Undera should seal fifth place by defeating Yea at home.
Yea, which is 12th of the 13 Kyabram league clubs, has applied to join the Yarra Valley Mountain District league next season.
Yea hopes to renew its rivalries with Thornton-Eildon and Alexandra, which finished first and second in the Yarra Valley competition’s second division.
Yea played in the Kyabram and District league from 1986 to ’97, after which it joined the now defunct Central Goulburn league. Yea went back into the Kyabram and District league last season.
Alexandra will play Belgrave in the Yarra Valley second-division qualifying final at Kilsyth tomorrow. Yarra Glen will play Yarra Junction in the elimination final at Warburton tomorrow.
Thornton-Eildon went straight through to next weekend’s second semi-final.
Article first appeared: The Age August 25 2007
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