Bellarine vs. Geelong & District @ KFC Oval \u2013 Queen\u2019s Park \u2013 Saturday 11:50 am.<\/p>\n
FOR the first time since 1989, the Bellarine and Geelong and District leagues will do battle at senior representative level when they meet in Saturday\u2019s AFL Victoria Community Championships clash at Queen\u2019s Park.<\/p>\n
The BFL was notionally ranked 14th following last year\u2019s win over Wimmera at Horsham, while the GDFL climbed to 18th on the back of a ninepoint win over Heathcote and District.<\/p>\n
However, the Sharks\u2019 quest to edge closer to a top 10 ranking was put on hold by AFL Victoria\u2019s decision to schedule a derby against the Raiders, who have been keen to have a crack at the BFL for several years.<\/p>\n
After announcing a 50-man training squad last month, Bellarine coach Mark Hildebrandt confirmed his final 23-man team earlier this week, which included arguably the three best key forwards in the competition: Jordan Erskine (Anglesea), Mitch Day (Geelong Amateur) and Jarrod Garth (Drysdale).<\/p>\n
Erskine leads the BFL goal kicking with 35 goals from six games, Day has 17, and Garth from three appearances after being sidelined for three weeks with an ankle issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll play one at full-forward, one at centre half-forward, and will come off the bench and help out,\u201d Hildebrandt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all want to play, which is absolutely fantastic. On a big ground, there\u2019ll be separation, so they\u2019ll be pretty hard to match-up on, I\u2019d imagine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they\u2019re smart players, these big boys. And they\u2019ve got some good little blokes around them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to have space to move, and a lot of one-on-one match-ups, which will suit us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modewarre great Josh Finch has been named captain, with Queenscliff star Dan Gibbs his deputy.<\/p>\n
Hildebrandt, who first took charge of the Bellarine in 2015, has again been impressed by the commitment from the BFL\u2019s stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s getting really, really good; the (club) coaches have been jumping on board and ringing me and putting players\u2019 names up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at the side, which is really good, then you look at blokes who aren\u2019t playing that wanted to play but are unfortunately injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hildebrandt was unable to consider the likes of Barwon Heads co-coach Mitch Herbison, Ocean Grove captain James Linton, Anglesea defender Dale Kerr, Torquay forward Paul McMahon, and Drysdale speedster Lauchie Dalgleish.<\/p>\n
Nine players that featured in last year\u2019s win over Wimmera will line-up against the GDFL: Finch, Gibbs, Erskine, Ash medallist Jackson Bews, Ash Caldwell, Matt Farrelly, Morgan Fenton, Wade McSparron, and Billy Henderson.<\/p>\n
Eleven of that team no longer plays in the BFL, including the ruck Andrew Jarvis, who was invited to train with the Vic Country squad on the back of his performance in Horsham.<\/p>\n
However, a handful of former GFL stars have put their hand up to play after joining the competition over summer, including Garth, fellow Bell Park Dragon-turned-Drysdale Hawk Chris Lynch, and Newcomb\u2019s Logan Wagener.<\/p>\n
Drysdale captain Mitch McGuire will represent the Sharks for the first time since winning the \u201cBull\u201d Bennett Medal in 2016 after spending the last two years at GFL club Leopold.<\/p>\n
While Portarlington\u2019s Daniel Measures, who was a star in Queenscliff hat trick of premiership before spending five seasons at St Joseph\u2019s, will make his debut for the Bellarine.<\/p>\n
Modewarre co-coach John Meesen, who will carry the majority of the ruck load, is also making his first appearance for the BFL at senior level.<\/p>\n
The match-up between the Bellarine and Geelong and District is the second game of a tripleheader that will see an AFL Barwon women\u2019s take on the Northern league to start the day and end with the Geelong league looking to regain it\u2019s ranking as Victoria\u2019s No.1 community competition, also against Northern. Prediction: Bellarine by 26 points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bellarine vs. Geelong & District @ KFC Oval \u2013 Queen\u2019s Park \u2013 Saturday 11:50 am. FOR the first time since 1989, the Bellarine and Geelong and District leagues will do battle at senior representative level when they meet in Saturday\u2019s AFL Victoria Community Championships clash at Queen\u2019s Park. The BFL was notionally ranked 14th following […]<\/p>\n