Gold Coast Football Club has announced an unchanged side for the club’s Round 3 VFL clash against North Melbourne-aligned Werribee Tigers at 7.00pm on Saturday at Melbourne’s Chirnside Park.
The game will be GCFC’s first away game for the year.
B Taylor HINE Michael GUGLIOTTA Michael COAD
HB Matthew SHAW Jack HUTCHINS Maverick WELLER
C Trent MCKENZIE Zac SMITH Hayden JOLLY
HF Luke RUSSELL Charlie DIXON Liam PATRICK
F Luke SHREEVE Nathan ABLETT Rex LIDDY
R Brandon MATERA Danny STANLEY Marc LOCK(c)
INT Rory THOMPSON David SWALLOW Daniel HARRIS Sam ILES
Alik MAGIN
EMG Joey DAYE Roland AH CHEE
Like GCFC, Werribee is yet to register a VFL win in 2010. Still, Senior Coach Guy McKenna expects nothing less than a tough game.
“They’re aligned with North Melbourne, so depending on who they bring back from the senior side I’d be expecting a similar type of game to that offered by Williamstown. They’ll have plenty of big bodies who attack the ball hard. It will be interesting to see how the boys not only take on men, but also how our guys take on men when they’re coming off a compromised routine due to travel for the first time.”
McKenna says witnessing a competitive second round effort against highly regarded Williamstown was more important than winning or losing.
“There was a lot motivating the boys in the first round,” he says. “Home crowd at Southport, first VFL game, many had their families in town. Second time up things are always going to be much, much harder. So bearing all that in mind, for us to be well in the game at three quarter time was really pleasing.”
McKenna downplayed his side’s inability to match Williamstown in the last quarter after scores were all but level at the final change.
“Ultimately that’s the amount of petrol we have in the tank. We’re boys fighting against men who’ve been there, and done that. We can’t escape that.”
He drew parallels with the experiences of some of the younger AFL sides on the weekend.
“You look at North Melbourne against Sydney. Fremantle against St Kilda. Even Port Adelaide against Geelong. These kinds of sides up against the older, more mature sides find it hard to sustain their effort.”
McKenna says he expects changes to the side following this week’s clash.
“I think three games against the bigger bodies will probably tell a tale, and particularly so after an away trip. I reckon we’ll probably see a few new faces bobbing up for the game at Labrador against Casey Scorpions in round four.”
• On Sunday, the entire playing group will attend the traditional Anzac Day fixture between Essendon and Collingwood.
• Despite losing its first two games, GCFC’s offensive record remains the VFL’s sixth best.
• This weekend’s game will be a return home of sorts for centreman Trent McKenzie. He played junior football at nearby Williamstown.
• Defender Michael Coad has proved an early season revelation in GCFC’s back half. The 26 year old former SANFL star has appeared in ‘best’ lists two weeks running, and his aggression, determination and leadership by example have gone a long way to justifying the club’s decision to take him with its second pick in the Rookie Draft.
• Maverick Weller was GCFC’s best on ground last weekend. One of two Tasmanian’s in the side (the other is half forward flanker, Luke Russell), Weller spent much of last season battling osteitis pubis. At first earmarked as a midfielder, Weller has played as a defender in his first two VFL games.
• Swimming’s loss is football’s gain when it comes to GCFC fullback Jack Hutchins. Not long ago, he was only a centimetres away from competing in the pool at the Beijing Olympics. So far his fine work in one of the game’s most thankless positions is justifying his decision to pursue football instead.
