NEAFL’s best excited for Tasmania

The folks from the Apple Isle are traditionally big football fans, and with arguably one of their strongest state sides in years, there should be a healthy turn out, which could be important, according to NEAFL coach Daniel Archer.

“The Tasmanian public loves their football; I was born in Tasmania, I have family there, and my father played his football in Tassie,” Archer said.

“We have to make sure the crowd doesn’t get into the match too much, if we are able to silence the crowd and negate them as a factor it will help us a lot.”

Another aspect of football in the nation’s south Archer and his men will have to contend with is the weather.

As is expected for late-June, the mercury isn’t expected to top 14 degrees on Saturday, something that could prove especially difficult for the squad’s northern contingent, with more than half the outfit based out of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Cool, and possibly wet and windy conditions will mean hard, in tight football will be vitally important in deciding the outcome, with inside ball winning something the NEAFL’s midfielders struggled with in their loss to the WAFL.

The side is full of outside run, but the likes of NT veteran Cam Illett, and nuggety Ainslie midfielders Sean Ellis and Aaron Vandenberg must be able to free the football from congestion, to get their side going.

The pick of the NEAFL’s Eastern Conference – comprised of players from its Sydney and Canberra-based clubs – was beaten by 41 points by Tasmania last year, but there’s probably little stock in that result, given how significantly the NEAFL side has been strengthened, as a combined single line-up.

There will be a handful of changes to the side which started brightly before being outclassed by the WAFL, with Archer adamant he’ll reward the form of players who’ve stood up in club games in the last fortnight.

NT Thunder rebounding defender Ben Rioli is a certain omission, sidelined with concussion, while Aspley’s Michael Pettit will make way for inarguably the NEAFL’s best performing ruckman this year, in Redland’s Paul Hunter (pictured), who will share the ruck load with Hornet Jed Turner.

Redland also has the most in-form marksman in the NEAFL, Cleve Hughes, who has kicked 44 goals for the year, and the former Shark will need to shoulder a lot of the attacking load against Tasmania, after a quiet game three weeks ago.

While the NEAFL’s ruck stocks have been bolstered, and their forward line looks strong, they’ll have to contend with some high-quality opposition.

Former Essendon big man Jason Laycock, dominant at club level this year, will ruck most of the match, while the likes of Bart McCulloch, who bagged three goals against NEAFL Eastern last year, and ex-Brisbane Lion Aaron Cornelius, a mercurial marking forward with who can kick a goal from anywhere, will make life very difficult for the NEAFL defence.

Archer is looking forward to the challenge, and is desperate for an inaugural representative victory.

“We are very lucky to be given another opportunity at representative football this year, and we are intent on trying to square the ledger,” Archer said.