Country Championships: Great Southern named strong mix of youth and experience for division two title tilt

Great Southern Football League senior coach Glynn Verbruggen is confident his star-studded squad announced this week for next month’s annual country championships is well-equipped to go all the way. The cherry-picked team features 44 players from all six GSFL clubs, albeit with members of Railways, Mt Barker and Albany doing most of the heavy lifting. The squad will start training next week in the build up to the 2025 Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships in Perth where Great Southern will step up to division two. “The three stronger clubs have got the stronger representation in the squad definitely and I think that represents where we are in the ladder,” he said. “We’ve got the best available talent and we’re really looking forward to getting up there, competing in B-grade, and progressing ourselves. “Obviously the standard will go up a bit, but I think we can handle it.” The squad’s 2024 success has hauled them to division two, where they will compete with neighbouring rivals Ongerup and long-standing division one contenders Upper Great Southern alongside Central Midlands Coastal, North Pilbara and Eastern Districts. Verbruggen is optimistic about his outfit’s chances, which represent the “best of what the region has” to offer, in the more competitive grade. “We’re still going up there with the ambition to win B-grade,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any reason that, if we play our best footy and have a good attitude, there’s no reason we can’t make the grand final.” The senior coach expects last year’s championship all-star Bailey Taylor to be someone who leads from the front and again get big performances from guns Ryley Valli, Jayden Scott and Isaac Baum. Strong new inclusions to the team include Ballard brothers Tristan and Seb, star forward Hayden Parker and key ball winner Darcy Clarke. “We’ve got some strong senior leaders but I’m looking for the younger age group to really step up and start shouldering a load for carnival footy going forward,” Verbruggen said. “There’s a strong cohort there with Valli, Wallinger and Keen — guys that should be looking to head up to carnival footy and establish themselves as stars for the league.” The Great Southern squad will start training on Monday, June 16 at Keep The Sheep Stadium starting at 6pm. Great Southern squad Nathan Powell, Cam Smith, Joel Flick, Corey Linthorne, Travis Conn, Nick Barrow, Kobi Keen, Matt Orzel, Jyrin Woods, Nelson Tulip, Brett Peake, Isaac Baum, Robbie Lee, Taj Williams, Ashely Ayles, Tait McLean, Bailey Taylor, Ryley Valli, Lachie Cale, Kane Shephard, Hayden Parker, Mohit Jaggi, Bodhi Stubber, Beau Ewen, Ryan Davies, Daniel Thomas, Jayden Scott, Daniel Patching, Brandon Ugle, Darcy Wallinger, Dante Wiseman, Camball McMahon, Darcy Clarke, Tristan Ballard, Seb Ballard, Brent Parsons, David Stone, Mitch Jackson, Tyreice Brown.