ULTIMA will be aiming to unveil their premiership flag in style when the Golden Rivers Football season gets underway Saturday afternoon, with the Roos set to host Wandella in a re-match of last year’s preliminary final.
It will be a vastly different looking Bombers outfit that takes to the field than the one which fell at the penultimate hurdle last season, with Wandella’s coaching hierarchy significantly strengthening their midfield with several off-season acquisitions.
Mitch Collins and Kane Timmins will return to the club and should immediately make the Bombers stronger around the contest, while the recruitment of former Echuca United ruckman Darcy Ramage, Irymple midfielder Connor Byrnes and Kerang onballer Logan Tuohey will also add further depth to their engine room, according to Wandella coach Justin Robinson.
“It’s (midfield) probably an area that we lacked in last year, so we’ve certainly recruited midfield strength more than any other part of the ground,” Robinson told The Guardian this week.
“We have a good mix of youth and experience in the middle, so hopefully we can match it with them (Ultima) and at least win a few more clearances and relieve some pressure on our backline.
“It’s been a 15 week pre-season, so everyone’s pretty keen to get out there and get started and although it’ll be a tough game to start off with, it will be good to see where we’re at first up.
“They (Ultima) we’re obviously the best team last year, but we’ll be looking to take our game up a level and hopefully we can match it with them.”
Wandella are expected to be at full strength, with youngster Archer Lancaster also expected to move into a midfield rotation role this season.
Ultima on the other hand will be missing a number of premiership stars, including injured onballer Jake Foster, with Roos co-coach Kyle Symons knowing his team will have to adjust their mentality now that they are no longer the hunter, but are now the hunted.
“We’re pretty confident we can replicate our form from last year, but we’ve spoken about the need to shift our mentality and yet not forget how hard we had to work to get to the top,” he said.
“Once you’ve had a taste of that success too, it’s a big motivating factor to get back there and do it again.
“There’s a few of the older guys that are really driving that message that the opportunity doesn’t come around very often, so when you’re in the window, you better make most of it.”
Symons and his Ultima teammates will be aware of the Bombers new look midfield, with the premiership coach expecting the match to be won and lost in the centre.
“They (Wandella) have recruited pretty well from all reports and the guys that they’ve brought in will definitely strengthen up their midfield, which will help their forwards a bit in getting more supply,” Symons said.
“We expect that we’re going to have to work really hard against them, they’ve strengthened up and they were preliminary finalists last year so they are no easy beats in the first place.”
Although the Roos will be hoping to begin their premiership defence with a win, last year’s runner’s up Hay will also be expecting a tough contest against a new look Moulamein.
The Lions have recruited strongly after last season’s heart breaking grand final defeat, with Dylan Collis and Fergus Cattanach set to have a significant impact both through the midfield and up forward.
The Swans have also recruited well, however, under new coaches Brodie Tonkin and Hayden Dalitz, with Moulamein expected to be one of the Golden Rivers big improvers this season.
Among those expected to have an impact for their new club include Brett Kennedy, who proved to be a dangerous mid-sized forward for Kerang last season, along with former Lake Boga pair Will Doquille and Josh Wills and Woorinen forward Adam Saunders.
The final match of the opening round of the season will see Macorna host Murrabit, with both clubs hopeful of improved showings this season.
Shaun Haffenden will return for Macorna as co-coach alongside Paul Longstaff, with the Tigers going into the season with a similar squad to the one which led them to fourth place last season.
Murrabit on the other hand will be aiming to improve on their last place finish, with several key recruits, including Adam Thomson, Logan McKinnon and Bailey Pengelly among those expected to have an impact for the Blues.
