Border Mail |
STEVE McKee is on the verge of an Ovens and Murray call-up more than 15 years after his last interleague appearance.
The Yarrawonga big man, 34, last night came into contention to play against the Peninsula league on Saturday after coach Matt Pendergast suffered another tough day at the selection table.
Yarrawonga forward Kayne Pettifer re-committed to the squad yesterday but withdrew just hours later because of work commitments, before injured trio Joel Mackie, Brad O’Connor and Kane Godde — who all wanted to play — were forced to rule themselves out of the selection race.
But it has opened the door for McKee, who last played for the league in 1996 when he helped steer the O and M to the division 1 Victorian Country Championship against Geelong at John Flower Oval.
He was just 17 at the time and was drafted by Richmond later that year.
“Talk about bringing a bit of experience back,” Pendergast said after training at Wangaratta’s Norms Minns Oval last night.
“It would be like bringing a dinosaur back.
“But he’s playing well enough at the moment and putting it on a platter for the boys down at Yarra and so I definitely won’t be complaining if we end up getting him on board.
“He spoke to Craig (Ednie) the other day and said he’d jump at the chance which is good.
“It makes my job worthwhile, having blokes that really support it.
“We’ve got a few options, though, and so we’ll see what happens later in the week.”
Competition stars Craig Ednie, Luke Garland, Xavier Leslie and Charles Gaylard headlined a training squad of about 20 players last night, with a host of other key names like Myrtleford pair Brad Murray and Kristan Height also committed to the cause.
In another boost, in-form Lavington coach James Saker has had a change of heart and has made himself available for selection.
Young guns Lonnie Hampton, Corey Greer and Hayden Filliponi also remain in the mix.
“They’ll get every opportunity to step up,” Pendergast said.
“We’ve still got a few blokes in Melbourne putting their hand up and at the end of the day we’ll have a good side, either way.
“It was one of those days.
“It’s always interesting in the last few days and training sessions because you start to take a few hits.
“But at the same time, it creates a few good stories and a few blokes get opportunities.”
Saturday’s clash, at Carlton’s Visy Park, starts at 2.10pm.
