As the air turns crisper and we ride on autumn’s coattails into winter, interleague football is set to resurface with all the theatre of a sporting bush opera.
The Ash-Wilson Trophy will be contested at Wangaratta’s WJ Findlay Oval on May 24, as Goulburn Valley League looks to defend its grail against Ovens and Murray League in another bumper edition of this storied interleague rivalry.
A 39-man GVL senior football squad has been named, with all 12 clubs represented in the initial side.
Mooroopna’s Dale Osborne has taken over the coaching reins from Mark Lambourn and Sam Reid and he’ll be assisted by Simon Maddox (Echuca), Trent Freer (Shepparton United) and Jack Hutchins (Mansfield).
However, this time around the feeling will be different for the boys in purple and gold.
The GVL heads in as the hunted after exorcising former demons to finally prise the Ash-Wilson Trophy from the O&M’s grasp in 2024.
The 8.15 (63) to 7.6 (48) showstopper at Deakin Reserve marked a line in the sand moment for our locals and with a new crop charged with steering GVL forward, a repeat of last year’s triumph is in the cross hairs.
“Any time interleague is on, we want to support it,” Maddox said.
“You never know when the last interleague is going to be, so if we can do the GV proud, pull the jumper on and get as strong a side as we possibly can, we’re looking to go over to the Ovens and Murray and defend our title.”
Three players in the O&M are former GVL stars, with Bowen Calogero (Shepparton Swans), Ben Rigoni and Tom O’Sullivan (Seymour) set to don the gold and black on May 24.
Meanwhile, a total of nine players that played in the GVL’s 2024 interleague victory have been named in the 2025 initial cut.
Maddox, steering reigning premiership side Echuca, is hoping to see his Murray Bombers well represented when push comes to shove, but ultimately wishes to do the league proud.
“I’m hoping we'll have three, four, five (Echuca) blokes in there, but if not, if we can get the best players in the league to play — as we’ve seen in the last couple of years, you get a ripping game of footy,” he said.
GVL senior interleague squad
Mark Marriott, Nick Mellington (Benalla), Hugh Byrne, Jack Evans, Jack McHale, Riley Smith (Echuca), Will Creevey, Cohen Paul, Jett Trotter (Euroa), Anthony Depasquale, Kaine Herbert, Zac Norris, Aidan Robinson, Archie Watt (Kyabram), Callum Brown, Jayden Howes, Matt King, Sam Thomson (Mansfield), Dom Gugliotti, Ben Hicks, Coby James, Jed Woods (Mooroopna), Mitch Cricelli, Wil Hamilton (Rochester), Riley Mason, Nic Quigg (Seymour), Ned Byrne, Adam De Cicco, Ash Holland, Lewis McShane, Xavier Stevenson (Shepparton), Max Clohesy, Nathan Rachele, Oliver Warburton (Shepparton Swans), Kade Chalcraft, Jesse Cucinotta, Caidan Phillips, Joel Serra (Shepparton United), Ben Darrou (Tatura)
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