LOCHIE Hocking, son of Geelong great Garry, will make his debut for the Geelong Falcons in Sunday’s clash with Sydney Swans Academy at Sandringham’s Trevor Barker Beach Oval.
Hocking, who is part of the Falcons’ 19-year-old contingent gets an opportunity against the Swans with Harry Stubbings, Charlie Sprague and Sam Christensen selected in this weekend’s AFL Victoria Young Guns game.
“Lochie came into the program after Christmas, so he missed a good portion of pre-season,” coach Luke Daffy said.
“Then he picked up an injury, which delayed him from getting into his training.
“But he’s probably spent the last 6-8 weeks really working on his conditioning, and he’s got a couple of games under his belt locally.
“So we feel like he’s in a really good position to come in and play his first game, which we’re really excited for him.”
Daffy says Hocking will play predominantly in the backline.
“We’ll look to use him in our offence as we come out of the back half,” Daffy said.
“He’s quite skilful, so I think he’s got a lot to offer down there.”
As well as Hocking, Alvie’s Joel Makuey will make his debut, joining Grovedale’s Harry Whyte and Geelong West’s Jack Grigsby as the 19-year-old contingent.
Ollie Henry and Henry Walsh return from AFL Academy duties.
The Falcons, who have played a draw and suffered two single-figure losses in their opening four games, face the Swans for the first time.
“They look like they’re a pretty talented side; it’s going to be a good challenge for us,” Daffy said.
“They’re really strong around the contest, and they like to outnumber.
“That’s a bit of a focus of we like to play, so it’s going to be a really good challenge for us this week.
“We need to come with a mindset to take it up to a really good side.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
NAB LEAGUE BOYS ROUND 6
GEELONG FALCONS vs. SYDNEY SWANS ACADEMY
Trevor Barker Beach Oval
Sunday, May 5, 12:00pm
[supsystic-tables id=’8′]
