Clash of region's best on agenda

The Goldfields Football League's best players will get a rare opportunity to strut their stuff at representative level in a clash against a combined team from Esperance in June.

The June 14 showdown will be the official curtain-raiser for the WAFL match between Subiaco and Perth at the Sir Richard Moore Sports Centre.

Goldfields' last representative appearance was in the A-section at the 2011 Landmark carnival in Perth.

But it proved to be a disastrous trip, with coach Tom Briggs left with just 20 players for the opening round clash with Peel.

The subsequent 138-point loss was among the worst in the GFL's proud 115-year history.

Goldfields' two losses at the series were by a combined 177 points - culminating in relegation to the B-section.

The GFL had invested up to $18,000 to send a team to the State's annual regional showcase before finally cutting its losses three years ago.

"The match is definitely going to happen, but the planning is in its infancy at the moment, as far as appointing a coach and sourcing players," GFL chairman Garry Giles said.

"It will be a big day for Goldfields football because there will be a 16s game first, between JPC Saints and Railways, followed by the curtain-raiser and the WAFL game."

Giles said the fact the match was being played in Kalgoorlie-Boulder stacked the odds in the GFL's favour for fielding its strongest team.

"Being at home, I don't think that (players not wanting to support the game) will be an issue - simply because we are not travelling," he said.

"It's a general bye for us anyway, so I really see no issues at all.

"This is a lot different to country week, when we play several games and drag players away from their jobs and families."

Esperance officials have also scheduled a bye for the June 14 and 15 weekend and it is expected the team will travel to Kalgoorlie-Boulder and return home straight after the WAFL fixture. The GFL hosts its fourth WAFL clash in 11 years - following 2003 (Subiaco v Swan Districts), 2006 (Subiaco v Perth) and 2008 (Subiaco v Peel).