INJURIES to key players during round five of the Wimmera Football League season at the weekend have caused a shake up of the Big W’s interleague line-up.
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The representative side will play Bellarine Football League at Horsham City Oval on Saturday in an interleague double-header with Horsham District Football League.
The district league will face Central Highlands Football League.
The Wimmera coaching committee picked its squad following a final selection training session on Sunday morning.
But it had to do without a number of first-choice starters because of injuries at the weekend.
Dimboola’s Torin Petrie suffered a concussion in the Roos’ match against Ararat, while Horsham Saint Phil Butsch and Horsham Demon Jack Mentha sustained knee injuries.
Minyip-Murtoa’s Kieran Delahunty and Gus Trethowan will also miss after pulling up sore from the Burras’ win against Stawell.
Wimmera coach Louie Dalziel said while the injuries were disappointing, the league had the depth to cover the losses.
He said interleague competition always had annoying idiosyncrasies.
‘‘We’ve had a bit of a mixed bag with how our routine goes, with blokes on tractors and things like that, and a few injuries that have hampered our preparations,’’ he said.
‘‘But we’re still quietly confident that who we’ve got can get the job done.
‘‘I’ve been coaching this set-up for 10 to 12 years and you never have the team you want there on the paper.’’
Dalziel said the unpredictability of the selection period allowed others to step up.
‘‘Some guys who think they’re not up to it are going to get their chance,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not always your A graders in these games. It’s your B graders and sometimes your C graders who come into play and we expect them to come in and do a job for us.
‘‘They’re all quality players.’’
Dalziel expects Bellarine to have some hard-luck stories of its own.
He said the Big W hoped to play a traditional brand of football.
‘‘I’d like to base it on my own game when I played, which was hard and in-and-under,’’ he said.
‘‘How I think we get the job done in these games is being able to get the hard ball and win our own footy to start with.
‘‘Once we do that, we need some blokes who can finish it off.’’
Horsham Demon Nick Pekin will skipper the Wimmera side, while Minyip-Murtoa’s John Delahunty is vice-captain.
The squad stands at 26 players.
There is an extended bench of eight, which will be reduced to five ahead of tomorrow’s clash.
There are three emergencies.