By David Nagel
A large crowd of ‘football-hungry’ supporters is expected at Cora Lynn on Saturday night as the Cobras welcome league heavyweights Tooradin-Dalmore to the Cobradome.
A 6pm start – at one of the great country football grounds – is sure to prove attractive, with afternoon games at Garfield, Kooweerup and Nar Nar Goon meaning football lovers are only minutes from the action.
And the game itself should be a beauty, with Seagulls’ 2022 premiership captain Jordan Kelly taking on the senior coaching role for the first time.
Kelly has lost some absolute class through the midfield, with Brent Macaffer and Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds leaving a huge hole in the engine room.
The Gulls have plugged that hole somewhat with the addition of Matt Buntine, who played 67 games for GWS between 2012 and 2019.
The now 30-year-old brings a wealth of experience and leadership, having captained Dandenong Stingrays in 2011 and being part of the leadership group at GWS during his AFL days.
He has played the last two years at Casey Demons and was part of their premiership win in 2022.
Buntine will play majority inside mid; with the Seagulls midfield stocks taking a blow during the pre-season.
Buntine and former Casey teammate Jimmy Munro will be looking forward to their battle under lights on Saturday night.
Nick Lang, the Seagulls’ 2017 best and fairest winner, will also add class and consistency through the middle, while former Berwick skipper Luke Sheppard has forged his reputation on being a running machine off half back.
Centre-half-back Harry Lang joins after a premiership-winning season at Emerald, and will provide great support to Adam Oxley in defence.
The Gulls also have a quality list of youngsters; with Kelly expected to blood some fresh new faces throughout the season.
Cora Lynn had a chance to blow out the cobwebs a fortnight back, with a challenging trip to reigning-premier Inverloch-Kongwak, and should be much better for the run.
The Cobras showed promising signs, with the return of Jaxon Briggs adding pace through the midfield, while star full-forward Nathan Gardiner will be keen to hit the scoreboard hard after only one goal against the Sea Eagles.
This one is tough to pick, with the Seagulls dropping their standards slightly last year – after the supreme premiership heights of 2022 – while it’s too early to predict where the Cobras fit in to the premiership puzzle this season.
The Seagulls probably have the class edge, but we’ll go for the Cobras to open their account on their home deck by a thrilling four points.
