ALL roads lead to the Leongatha Recreation Reserve on Saturday, June 7 for the eagerly anticipated contest between South Gippsland rivals Leongatha and Wonthaggi.
And spicing up an already tasty menu are the changes both sides have made ahead of the match.
Wonthaggi has been forced to make a couple of changes with the injuries to utility big man Jakeb Thomas and courageous defender Fergus O’Connor, both casualties of a classic contest at Traralgon two weeks ago.
But into the side come a trio of worthy replacements; Jye Gilmour, who will slot straight back into the space left by O’Connor in defence, Shannon Bray, in for a milestone game, his first since Round 2, and Brodie Mabillia making a welcome return from injury.
Leongatha have made three changes as well, Dyson Heppell in for his second game of the year, Sean Westaway coming back and first-gamer, Aydan Williams selected to make his senior debut.
Out go Patrick Ireland and Tim Sauvarin, both unavailable and Xavier Bolge after two senior games on debut.
Ireland, who has kicked 10 goals this season, is a loss up forward but certainly the inclusion of Heppell and Westaway are major pluses for the Parrots.
Editor of the Latrobe Valley Express, Liam Durkin, gave his thoughts on the match.
He said it was one of the games of the year that Gippsland football fans looked to, especially with Dyson Heppell coming into the side for his second game of the season.
“Clearly, for us, nothing matches the annual derby between Traralgon and Morwell, and to a lesser extent, Maffra and Sale, but definitely with these clubs sitting two and three on the ladder, I imagine there’ll be a lot of interest in it locally,” said Liam.
“I’d probably favour Wonthaggi, just, after their gutsy win over Traralgon, two players down and with the week off but I imagine with the players they’ve lost, especially Jakeb Thomas and Fergus O’Connor, they’ll need to be doing some reshuffling on the back line.
“Shannon Bray has been included for his 150th game so that’s a good inclusion for them but yes, Wonthaggi deserves to be confident, although with the match at Leongatha and the Parrots adding Dyson Heppell and Sean Westaway, it shapes as a very interesting one.
“Maybe Wonthaggi, just,” said Liam.
It’s the ‘Fight MND’ round in the Gippsland League and patrons are being encouraged to buy an MND beanie and wear it on the day, but the Parrots’ will be supporting another worthy cause on Saturday.
Dyson Heppell will be at Leongatha with his mate H, Harrison Pennicott, a young fella who has battled the scourge of scleroderma for all his life, but managed to get some pretty impressive runs on the board anyway.
Together with his partner Kate Turner, Dyson and Harrison have launched the ‘Haych’ clothing brand label and as well as promoting the scleroderma cause, there is expected to be merchandise for sale at the ground on Saturday. Call in and say hi to Haych and Dyson.
Right through the day, both on the footy ground and at the netball courts, players will be looking forward to their own slice of the ‘South Gippsland Showdown’ with the B Grade netball, in particular, one to watch as a likely preview to a possible grand final clash between these two later in the year.
Leongatha is sitting on top in the Bees, with Wonthaggi second but both sides boast a mix of youth and experience and it wouldn’t surprise to see it go down to the wire.
The As could be a ripper too, with Leongatha in sixth and Wonthaggi in 8th but both teams have been competitive for much of the game with higher-ranked opponents this season and will be expected to bring their best on Saturday.
The C Grade game could be a cracker as well, with both Leongatha and Wonthaggi set to make finals this year. Leongatha should have the edge in the under-age games but an upset in the Under 17s or Under 15s would not surprise.
The curtain-raisers on the footy field also hold interest, especially the Under 16s game with Leongatha and Wonthaggi sitting in 8th and 7th on the ladder facing off in a must win match for their seasons. Leongatha appear to have the edge in the Reserves and Thirds.
The action starts at 9am but bring a raincoat and umbrella and something warm. The bureau is predicting a top temperature of 13 degrees in Leongatha, with 30km/h winds and up to 15mm of rain which won't go astray in rural areas.
