South Barwon and St. Jospeh’s are set to play in front of a large crowd for the traditional ANZAC Day GFNL clash on Tuesday, with both senior football teams looking to continue solid starts to the season.
Both sides are coming off the back of big wins in Round 1, particularly Joey’s who knocked off reigning premiers St. Mary’s by 26-points, to go with a massive win over North Shore in their standalone season opener before Easter.
Swans Coach Mark Neeld said the team is feeling privileged to be a part of such a special occasion.
“We’ve had a number of discussions in the lead up about the day, what it means to various different people both in the football netball club and outside.
“There’s so many facets to the day, we’re just really looking forward to being involved in a small way, to what is a big day.
“There is a football game to win but tomorrow is about far more than just a community football game.”
Neeld said it’s difficult to get a proper read on where they’re at, given the wet conditions last week where the Swans got a 41-point win over Grovedale in their season opener.
“It’s very hard to judge.
“I had a great deal of empathy for Grovedale who trained all summer themselves and we got the aid of a little breeze and a relatively rain-free period of time at the start of the game and kicked some goals.
“Then when they were going to get their chance of doing it the heavens opened and the breeze stopped.”
Neeld said the boys will be relishing an extended break since the opening match, with both teams getting a 10-day break.
“The players will tell you that they need as much recovery as what they can possibly get.
“But again I’m happy to presume that nearly every other footballer that ran around in the GFL last week felt the same.”
GFNL: Grovedale holds off Cats in Spirit of ANZAC clash
Neeld was full of praise for St. Joseph’s after its big win over the Saints last weekend, saying they’re expecting a challenging contest.
“They played in heavy conditions but played really well all over the ground.
“They had winners and they deserved their win so yeah they looked pretty handy.”
K rock Football will be broadcasting live at McDonald Reserve from 1:00pm and can be heard on FM 95.5 across Geelong & the Surf Coast or via krockfootball.live, with live streaming via aflbarwon.com.au.
Twitter: @krockfootball
