Ammos gather momentum ahead of Torquay clash

A SUBSTANTIAL recruiting drive of top-level players has paid early dividends for Geelong Amateur, with the Bellarine Football League’s (BFL) lone Geelong club starting the year 3-0.

Ammos co-coach Daniel Holroyd says the side had hit a good run of form early in the season, being one of only two clubs to remain undefeated through three rounds of action.

The other club to share that description is Torquay, who Holroyd’s side will play at Queens Park Reserve on Saturday.

But Holroyd says his team is excited for the challenge.

“You can’t just drop the ball for five minutes against that side. We’ve done that the past couple of years when we’ve played them and they’ve blown us out of the water for it, but there’s been a couple of times we’ve been competitive,” Holroyd said.

“We just need to play our game really well and do it consistently. Hopefully that’s good enough on the day.”

Geelong Amateur got past Modewarre in Round 1 by 27 points and then Queenscliff by seven points in Round 2.

Ammos was able to play exceptionally well in Round 3 against a resurgent Portarlington side last weekend at home, trouncing the Demons by 99 points without key offseason recruit Tom Gribble.

Holroyd said Gribble’s ankle injury was being gauged on a day by day basis, refusing to put a timeframe on the midfielder’s possible return.

“It’s a bit of a sensitive ankle injury; we’re looking at it on a daily basis. We aren’t ruling him out playing in the next couple of weeks, but we aren’t putting a schedule on it either.

“It could be short-term or it could be long-term, we just need to keep an eye on it.”

Gribble joined Geelong Amateur along with a trio of Geelong Football League recruits in Patrick Dowling (St Mary’s), Harrison Orr (Newtown & Chilwell), and Blake Sutterby (Newtown & Chilwell).

“We knew what we were going to get from [Blake] given he played at the club before, but as a person, he’s been a really good addition as well,” Holroyd added.

“Patrick has come in and he’s just a really hard matchup for other teams I believe, and Harrison has been a good addition to the list and has been great for our culture too.”

Geelong Falcons prospect Tom Gorell has also started 2024 hot, ranking fourth in goal-kicking with 10 goals through three rounds.

Geelong Amateur and Torquay will begin their Round 4 clash tomorrow (Saturday, April 20) afternoon at 2.10pm sharp.