Bendigo Advertiser | AFTER three consecutive losses, new coach Andrew Collins is determined to turn around the inter-league fortunes of Loddon Valley on Saturday.
Loddon Valley clashes with Alberton at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in the battle of 25 v 26 in the AFL Victoria Country Championships.
Loddon Valley has lost its past three inter-league games by 52, 30 and 73 points since defeating Maryborough-Castlemaine District by 40 points in 2011.
“No-one likes turning up to the footy to get beaten and I certainly don’t like being a part of anything where we’re not giving it our all, and that’s what we’ll be doing on Saturday,” Collins said on Thursday.
“I’m confident the talent is there and that if we team well together, we can get the result we’re after.”
Not surprisingly given its reign of dominance of the LVFL, the inter-league team has a strong Bridgewater contingent, with eight Mean Machine players selected.
“I’m very happy with the squad we’ve picked,” Collins said.
“We’ve got a squad of players who are all keen and all in solid form for their clubs.
“And there’s also some guys in there who haven’t played inter-league before and may be under-rated within the competition, but we’ll be looking to them to play really well to help us get a win.
“Our forward line looks dangerous with Brad Rohde, Lachlan Ford, who is in really good form, and Anthony Dennis all down there.
“And Dylan Morison at full-back is a player I really rate as a defender who is really awkward to play on.”
Eight of the nine clubs are represented in the squad, which includes three of Pyramid Hill’s VFL recruits - Jake Anderson, Fabian Brancatisano and Danko Bzenic.
LODDON VALLEY v ALBERTON
QUEEN ELIZABETH OVAL, BENDIGO, 1.30PM SATURDAY
LODDON VALLEY
B: David Millard, Dylan Morison, Tristin Nalder
Hb: Jye Sandiford, Darren Clutton, Luke Harrison
C: Marc Lindsay, Andrew Collins, Danko Bzenic
Hf: Liam Bartels, Lachlan Ford, Josh McLeod
F: Corey Gregg, Brad Rohde, Anthony Dennis
Foll: Josh Metherell, Jake Anderson, Jay McDonald
Interchange: (from) Angus Fortune, Terrence Reeves, Kyle Manley, Mitch Collins, Fabian Brancatisano
ALBERTON
B: Ashley Snooks, Ben Thomas, Ash Zuidema
Hb: Jaymie Youle, Andrew Logan, Joel Sinclair
C: Cam Stone, Brendan Kimber, Matt Schreck
Hf: Ben Fitzpatrick, Tom Keily, Blake Carew
F: Beau Runnalls, Nicholas Connellan, Tom McDermott
Foll: Josh Schelling, Justin Marriott, Callan Park
Interchange: Gareth Park, Charlie Ampt, Chris Graham, Joe Brooks
