By LIAM TWOMEY
THE Western Region Football League celebrated its return to interleague football with an impressive 37-point win on Saturday. Taking on the Southern Football League at Visy Park, the WRFL side looked in complete control throughout the contest and led at every change.
Matthew Dean, Kwame McHarg and captain Jason Cloke were all among the best players, while Lee Spiteri was presented with the medal for the most valuable player.
WRFL coach Brett Jacobs was rapt with his side’s performance.
“We weren’t expecting a six-goal win, that’s for sure,” he said.
“At the start we said 10 to 12 goals would probably win it so we thought it would be a low scoring game. We put a big emphasis on pressure. Being a pre-season format we were sure that would be the best way to go and … it worked for us.”
Despite still coaching his own team (Sunshine), Jacobs said he and his coaching group found time to scout the SFL before the match.
“We did a bit of work on the footy forums, Big Footy and what not,” he said.
“We did as much research as we could and looked at club websites and all that sort of stuff. We got some valuable information. I shouted one of my old mates who played in the league a lunch earlier this week and got a bit of juice out of him so it was all beneficial.”
After starting the interleague format ranked number five, the WRFL now jumps to number four and will take on the Eastern Football League next season.
The winner of that match will earn the right to play for the number one ranking the following year.
“We were very happy with the process,” Jacobs said.
“The majority of the players in the league made themselves available. We had a good squad to choose from. We had some great support. Steve Thom has been awesome through the whole process. Tymmsy (assistant coach Aaron Tymms) and Freez (assistant coach Aaron Freeland) have been terrific for me.
“I think you will find a lot more players will put their hand up to participate next year. We hope it stays on for a few more years. I am a big fan of it and think it is fantastic.”
