Roos restocked for elimination final tilt

A SWATHE of ins are expected to bolster the spirits of the Anglesea Football Club ahead of its return to the Bellarine Football League finals series.

Anglesea player-coach Jordan Keras said several players, including himself, were set to return to the field in Sunday’s elimination final against Modewarre at Portarlington Reserve.

“We’re hopeful, without being definitive about anything, myself, Lachlan Smith, Harrison Veale, Jack Baker, Liam Holland and our ruckman Fergus Huntington return to the line-up,” Keras said.

Sharpshooter Dylan Pettingill was listed as ‘IN’ earlier this week and headlines the group of returning players.

Anglesea won’t need to look back far to remember the last time out against Modewarre after meeting the Warriors last weekend.

Modewarre leapfrogged the Roos in the final round of the season to sure up fourth spot on the ladder without 300-gamer Josh Finch, with a five-goal win at Mount Moriac Reserve.

The Warriors limited Anglesea to just three majors over four quarters, and none in the first half.

At the other end, goal-kicking duo Tom Hornsey and Connor Joseph were at their usual best, combining for nine of Modewarre’s 10 goals, which Keras noted was a focus for Anglesea ahead of this weekend.

“We know Modewarre have a large amount of finals experience,” Keras said.

“They’ve also got Hornsey and Joseph in form, so I’d like to think if we can nullify those two boys, it would go a long way for us.

“It was good to get a look at how they played over the weekend.”

Modewarre’s win last weekend split the season series.

Anglesea overcame Modewarre in Round 7 by 29 points at Ellimatta Reserve behind Pettingill’s five-goal haul.

Anglesea missed out on finals in both seniors and reserves last year, but both sides will feature in Sunday’s elimination finals, with the seconds to make its first finals appearance in almost a decade against Modewarre as well.

“Obviously, a big talking point was getting this club going in the right direction in the seniors and reserves,” Keras said.

“We had a large turnover last year which meant there was always going to be a bit of time to adjust to that, but we’re just super proud to have both sides in the finals mix this year.

“We’re hoping we can do some damage in finals as well.”

Saturday’s qualifying final between Drysdale and Barwon Heads will start the finals action before the Warriors and Roos take centre stage on Sunday. Both games will start at 2pm.