BEYOND THE BOUNDARY PODCAST – APRIL 1
Already boosted by the presence of junior product Jye Bolton, Drysdale has confirmed the inclusion of two more handy additions for one-off appearances in Saturday’s Round 1 meeting with Queenscliff.
Former Hawthorn player Angus Dewar (Litherland) will be joined by highly-regarded country ruckman Kieran Delahunty for the clash with the Coutas.
Drysdale coach Ben Carmichael has told K rock Football that a link with Wimmera club Southern Mallee Thunder helped secure Dewar and Delahunty.
“They reached out to see if we needed some players on Easter,” he said.
“And it sort of just grew from there, where we just decided that they’d be pretty good inclusions into our group.
“We’re probably missing a few key cogs at the moment, so the opportunity to get those guys a game in over Easter, and, hopefully, jump on board forward in the future, was enough to get them to play on the weekend.
“They wanted to have a kick. They didn’t care if they had a kick in the reserves or the seniors. They just wanted a game of footy down here.”
With Bolton filling the void left by captain Mitch McGuire’s absence through injury in the midfield, Dewar, who played 25 games for the Hawks and one match for West Coast as a COVID replacement, will slot in down back to offset the absence of Tim Delaney and Luke Preece.
Delahunty, who played NEAFL with the NT Thunder and in the WAFL with Perth, will help the undersized Declan Foley in the ruck, with Ben Henderson still sidelined after knee surgery.
“Kieran will help Declan in the ruck and play forward,” Carmicahel said.
“Gus will play down back, which will be great.”
Meanwhile, Queenscliff will enter the clash with several key players, including off-season recruits Nick Rippon and Jaydo Wright, both of whom are unavailable.
Coach Heath Jamieson also couldn’t consider Jonty Rush, Jordy McIvor-Clark and Harry Gower.
However, Leopold premiership defender Trent Thompson will make his club debut along with ex-South Mildura midfielder Sam Kalfbell and former East Point (Ballarat league) star Billy Jones.
Jack Leonard returns to the Couta Bowl after stints with GFNL club North Shore and St Joseph’s, while Max Scott will play his first senior match since the final round of the 2024 season after missing all of last year with a lower leg injury.
Former captain Jake Hedley has also been named having not played at senior level since late 2024.
X: @krockfootball
