Football
25 April, 2024
Stawell ready to roll as club celebrates 150 years
Round two of the Wimmera Football Netball League is a special day for Stawell as they celebrate a special anniversary. Elsewhere, Matt Walder faces his former team and Dimboola kickstart their season.
Ruckman Josh Fowkes has hit the ground running for the Warriors and with Cody Driscoll and Ash Driscoll a dangerous combination up forward, with eight and six goals respectively this season, the Burras face a daunting prospect against a team that has a lot to play for.
Warriors coach Tom Eckel said they are ready to go on the biggest day in the club's history.
"By all reports, there are going to be at least 500 people turning up on the day and with past legends of the club also present, the playing group is looking forward to playing," Eckel said.
"It is going to be a tough game. We always have pretty good contests against the Burras and they have had it over us, so we know it won't be easy.
"Hopefully the occasion will give us a bit of an edge. The players know how big of a day it is and no one will be nervous. We are just ready to hit the ground running."
Burras coach Gareth Hose said it would be a tough match.
"They have had a great start to the year and are going to be one of the top teams this year and it is going to be a huge game," Hose said.
"We will be looking at vision and seeing who we need to put work into. We also need to see who is available after suffering a few minor injuries against Nhill."
At Anzac Park, the Warrack Eagles will look to show improvement against Ararat in Matt Walder's first game coaching against his former team.
Walder said he has a lot of memories and is looking forward to seeing what the club can do.
"I have a lot of friends and wonderful memories at the club and at the end of the day we are now in opposite camps and I am looking forward to plotting their downfall," Walder said.
"The main thing for us is we need to work on our overall game as we are nowhere close to being a top-rated side in all facets. Clearances and stoppage rates will be a primary factor.
"I am not here for us to go into our shells, we need to find ways to be more dangerous and to move the football and expose the opposition."
Dimboola opens their season against Nhill at Davis Park. Nhill had a tough loss last week against Minyip Murtoa and faces a Dimboola team that has some big-name recruits.
Andrew Moore comes as the biggest recruit they have had in a long time. Moore offers a lot of experience being in the AFL for ten years, playing for Port Adelaide and Richmond.
Recently he played for West Adelaide in the SANFL and is coming to Dimboola as not only an important cog in the midfield but also off-field leadership for Jack Landt and Ben Miller.
Jackson Calder is another big recruit that will sit in the forward line at six foot four and Landt has played with him in the past.
Calder recently played for Mornington where he kicked 43 goals in 2023 and 44 in 2024. Recently, he kicked 72 goals for St Marys in the Northern Territory.
Pat McDonough comes across as a key back/ruck from PEGS in the VAFA, as well as Ben Brett as an elusive half-forward/midfielder from Pint in the NTFL. Brett has a good left foot on him and kicks a lot of goals.