Anzac game a unique tribute
It is unique that a football team are training several times a week in October and are playing a game in November.
It is also a unique occurrence that the Royal Australian Navy’s football team are playing a team made up of members of the public.
However, Albany Football Club is doing just that at this Sunday’s showpiece event for the Anzac centenary commemoration weekend at Collingwood Park.
While it won’t be for the Great Southern Football League competition points, a win could do a lot for the youthful Sharks side who run out this weekend and have been starved of senior success in the home-and-away season.
This weekend’s squad will include 2014 Sharks league fairest and best winner midfielder Jack Banks, colts fairest and best winner Winston Twigg and former South Fremantle utility Jake Louthean.
Premier GSFL ruckman Etienne Vorster and club captain Jake Stuart will also play, as will a handful of talented juniors including Daniel Goodliffe, Dylan Smallwood, Tait McLean, Tyron Smallwood, Mitch Thornton, Rhett Wahlsten and Corey Leach.
Former president Alan Smallwood will coach the Sharks in the one-off game and said he was excited for the young talented side to have this opportunity.
“Our average age will be about 18 years old for this game, but that’s where we are at, our senior players are mostly 21 or 22, too,” he said.
“It’s always good to win, but it’s more about giving them more exposure to a new game style and playing against bigger bodies.”
Navy football operations manager Adam Bamford said his side would use this weekend’s game as a stepping stone to their Australian Defence Force Australian Rules Championship in March.
“From a Navy perspective, we are using this game to see a lot of new talent for our carnival in March next year,” he said.
“We think we have a lot of untapped talent out there and hopefully one or two guys from this game can come into our camp in March.”
Bamford said the navy would bring a squad of 25 for the game.
A special Sharks guernsey has been designed for the one-off match, which features memoirs from troops, an historic image of troops marching around Marine Drive, and a list of the troop carriers and four escort warships that sailed from King George Sound.
The Sharks players will present the Navy with the commemorative jumpers at 1.30pm on Sunday followed by renditions of the Ode by the Albany RSL and the Last Post and the Rouse or Reveille by a navy bugler from 2.25pm, with the game to start at 2.30pm.
