‘There is no bigger rivalry’: GVL and O&M set to renew interleague hostilities

By Zac Standish

May 26, 2022

Taking the reins: GVL legend Paul Newman is excited to lead the interleague team into battle against the O&M on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Aydin Payne

After five long years the Ash-Wilson trophy will once again be up for grabs on Saturday afternoon, as the Goulburn Valley League and Ovens and Murray Football Netball League renew their fierce interleague rivalry.

With their last meeting resulting in a seven-point victory to the O&M in 2017, the GVL side will be desperate to get the coveted piece of silverware back in its hands in front of a home crowd at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.

Legendary Kyabram mentor Paul Newman once again finds himself at the helm of the GVL side, and will bring a wealth of experience, having represented the league on more than 20 occasions as a player.

Ahead of the GVL’s first interleague clash following the COVID-19 pandemic, Newman said he was incredibly excited to see representative football return against its biggest rival.

“If this can’t reinvigorate that rivalry and passion for interleague footy I’m not too sure what will,” Newman said.

“I’m not too sure there are any rivalries around that can compare to the Ovens and Murray and Goulburn Valley, there have been some great battles over the years that were very fierce.

“So hopefully we can generate a bit of interest and bring a lot of people out to watch from around the area and put on a good show.”

This year’s squad sports an exciting mix of youth and experience, with the likes of Brett Mahoney (Mansfield), Steven Stroobants (Rochester) and Jack Hutchins (Mansfield) set to complement the exuberance of Jett Trotter (Euroa), Anthony Andronaco (Shepparton) and Zac Keogh (Kyabram).

Newman said he had full confidence that his group would represent the league with pride on Saturday afternoon.

“We are really happy (with the squad), there are players out there that we would have loved to have been available to us that unfortunately are not, but we have a group of boys that are super keen to represent the jumper,” he said.

“From my experience at interleague the most important thing is to just keep it simple; we aren’t going to reinvent the wheel structurally, we just want to get a group of players that are willing to commit and go that extra mile for each other.”

And while most pundits are predicting an O&M victory, you can never count out a GVL side coached by Newman, who believes he has a number of exciting trump cards at his disposal.

“It will be great to see the players put their skill and flair on show; they all know how to play the game, so I’ll just let them go out there and do their thing,” he said.

“I am very confident in our backline with the likes of Jack Hutchins leading the way and through the midfield we have got some great users of the ball.

“What really stands out to me though is our dangerous forward line, with the likes of Jett Trotter, Steven Stroobants and Anthony Andronaco, there is some definite firepower for us down there.”

As for what interleague football means to the local footballing icon, Newman said his memories of representing the league were among the fondest of his career.

“I always used to just take great pride in representing our league,” he said.

“A lot of people talk about the decline of our competition and all that type of stuff, but for me it is always something I valued very highly and looked forward to playing alongside the best players in the competition.

“You form friendships and earn respect in games like this, it is what you play football for and I used to love it, and I’m sure this group will feel the same.”