Border Mail – Interleague – Preview
HUME coach Brent Piltz has admitted the league is still hurting from its loss to the Ovens and King in 2015 and will use the defeat as motivation in Saturday’s return bout at Howlong.
“That still hurts a bit from three or four years ago when they had that famous last quarter,” Piltz said.
“It’s something we will use as motivation.
“That’s something we will touch on.
“It shows the character of the Ovens and King to come back from that deficit.”
Ovens and King forward Ben Clarke kicked the winning goal in the dying seconds of that match and is set to line-up against the Hume league again in a side which looks set to include big-name players Daine Porter and Karl Norman.
Hume has been a formidable force under Piltz’s coaching over the past two seasons with the league bringing down the Riverina and Tallangatta and District leagues.
Piltz said the signs had been promising for another strong display.
“We have a fairly different squad,” he said.
“There are probably eight or nine players from last year.
“There is a pretty good connection between the Hume league boys.
“We’ve got a strong, consistent squad with a lot of good leaders in the side which is always good in helping the young blokes.
“The league has done well for the past two years and we want to take another step.”
Henty full-forward Damian Cupido is set to line-up in attack after travelling from Melbourne to attend training at Howlong on Tuesday night.
Ironically, the talented Swampie made a one-off appearance for Ovens and King coach Jeremy Wilson’s side Moyhu earlier this season.
“He played round one and was fantastic,” Wilson said.
“He really bought into us for the day and was helping with structures and things like that.
“He’s a smart player and we expect him to play.
“We will obviously have to put a good player on him to curb his influence.”
Former Ovens and Murray players Steve Jolliffe, Myles Aalbers, Ben Dower, Peter Hancock and Mick Collins shape as other key performers for Hume.
While Henty midfielder Daniel Cox has been ruled out to return to Western Australia to visit family, his brother, Dale, is likely to play.
Wilson said the Ovens and King had benefited from Porter committing early to their representative campaign.
“Daine loves the contested footy so district footy is probably better suited to him in some regards than Ovens and Murray,” he said.
“He’s been fantastic for Tarra and we expect big things come Saturday from Daine.
“Karl didn’t play last weekend but he’s right to go as well.
“Things are looking OK.”
The Ovens and King will finalise their side at training on Wednesday night while Hume will complete their preparations on Thursday night.
