Bennettswood Reserve will be once again home to Animals footy this weekend as grassroots sport returns. The oval itself will see plenty of action as a traditional Emmaus St Leo’s triple header graces the grass, with the women opening proceedings with a game against De Le Salle, before the reserves and seniors men take on Hawthorn. For the Thirds, they will be travelling to Gordon Barnard Reserve to face the Old Camberwell Grammarians as they search for their second win of the season.

The Animals go into the game 1-6 after seven rounds, while the Wellers sit at the opposite end of the spectrum at 6-1 and on top of the ladder. It wasn’t the best time for those in the blue and blue when they faced Old Camberwell in round 7, finishing the game on the wrong side of a 3.4.22 to 17.23.125 scoreline. 

For the Thirds this week, Aaron Burrows will start at fullback, with Jai Lamperd and Adrian Mazzeo for company, and joined by Ben Kearns, Jamie Whipps and Tom Voogt at halfback. In the ruck is Oscar McVann, who will be tapping to Jaxson Penny, Anthony Smith and Matthew Lewis in the middle of the ground, while on the outside is Greg Rollo-Walker and Jeff Riordan. Luke Foley, Carlos Urbina, David Cowell and Joe Caldow will share the load at half-forward, while Niles Sheridan and Sean Nathan begin the game in the goalsquare. Beginning the game on the bench is Hamish McKenzie, Jack Thomson, Brady Woodward, Bailey Mitchell, Will Mantle, and seniors assistant coach Luke Paramanathan. 

And while the Thirds have a tough challenge away, the reserves and the seniors will face their own tough challenges at home at Bennettswood Reserve when Hawthorn make the trek.

For both Emmaus St Leo’s sides, the losses they suffered to the Hawks in round 4 were games they should have won. This weekend provides a good opportunity to even the ledger at 1-1 for season 2021.

The Animals sit 3rd on the ladder at 5-2 in both divisions and will no doubt be serious threats come finals, but the reserves come into their game off the back of an unfortunate 3-point loss to Canterbury, while the seniors consistently held off a Cobras fight back to take home the 4 points. 

Selection news for the reserves has James Rippon at fullback, with Cameron Price and Nic Glanville on either side, while Darcy Burke returns for his first reserves game of the year and is joined by Nick Rodway after performing consistently in the Thirds, and Tom Wales. Zac Durrant makes his return from injury to start on the wing, while Connor Leevers is named to start opposite him, and in the middle Ben Severin will have Noah Skiller, Jack Gibbons and Adam Bullivant at his feet. High on the 50m line is Steve Jones and James Moran, joined by Anthony Smith and Harry McConnell with Dan Quattro and Matthew Price starting deep. On the bench, Alex Lavery makes his reserves debut after consistently being one of the Thirds’ best, Mitchell Burrows, Lachlan Hicks, and Kieren Jenkins, who is back after his long-term injury. 

Changes have swept through the whole men’s squad, with a relatively new look to the seniors line up. Sam Argus resumes his customary position at fullback, flanked by Joden Crothers and Guy Donovan, while Baxter Newbegin at CHB is the rose between two roses in the form of the Collins brothers, with Jesse and Ben both named in the backline. The only thing more of a sure thing than the sky being blue is Matt Hill and Kieran Mair on the wings, which is happening for the eighth game in a row, while in the middle at Tom Clarke’s feet are Lawrence Virgo, Nathan Bird and Hugh Schaeche. In the attacking half of the ground is Isaac Waite and Ethan Phillips, while at half-forward, it’s another family affair with Michael and Harry Davis in good positions to snag a few as Dan Hill and Jacob Anthony start deep in the goalsquare. Rounding out the team is Sam Barrah, Jacob Glare, Zac Kearns, and Jonathan Greensides, who returns for his first seniors game of the year. 

Footy is finally back and it couldn’t be a better round for it. With VAFA protocols in place, there are no spectators for this weekend’s games, but all the information you will need you can find on the Emmaus St Leo’s socials so you can follow along at home! The Thirds and the women both start at 9:20am, while the reserves’ and the seniors’ first bounces are at 11:40am and 2pm respectively.