Country week: Great Northern gear up for division one as colts also look to flex muscles in the top division

The Great Northern Football League is gearing up to send their best side to Perth for country week. The team will contest division one after triumphing in division two last year. The GNFL also sent down a strong division one colts team looking to take it up to the best in the regions. The colts kicked off their country week campaign against Great Southern with a 5.7 (37) to 0.4 (4) victory on Thursday. Great Northern’s Mick Horstman was named best on ground in the 33-point win. However, the colts went down in their next two matches, losing to South West, 9.5 (59) to 3.5 (23) and Peel, 7.4 (46) to 3.1 (19). After conquering division two last year, Great Northern’s league side find themselves back up in division one, rubbing shoulders with the best in WA regional football. With head coach Leith Teakle at the helm again of the league team, the 30-man squad will be looking to take it up against the likes of the South West and Avon who have been contending in division one for the past few years. Teakle said the importance of having a 30-man squad fit, firing and ready to go was vital in the team’s success this year. “I think one of the main things with country week is making sure that we have a full 30-man squad, because we play four games in the qualifying and then hopefully a grand final,” he said. “So having a weight of numbers is really important, which we’ve got this year, which is fantastic.” This year’s team features a three-pronged attack among this year’s leading goal kickers. They include Tyrone Papertalk, Jaylen Parsons and Hassan Ahmat-Watkins. Teakle said the strongest line this year was the forward line, however speed and skill would be the collective strength of the team. “Our strength is going to be speed and skills,” he said. “Last year we were a touch taller and this year we are a slightly smaller team, but I think that is going to work well for us. “I think our strongest line will be the forward line, we have some real talent there. “We have a fair bit of versatility too with players able to be thrown into the midfield too.” Ringo McKenna is captain of the side this year after vice-captaining the team last year. Chapman Valley teammate Kim Schofield was set to co-captain the side with McKenna, but due to a late exit from the team through a calf injury, McKenna will take the reins solo. Teakle said McKenna was the perfect replacement for the role of captain. “He was the obvious choice when we learned that Kim was out,” Teakle said. “The boys respect him (McKenna) a lot, and he’s got an experienced head on his shoulders. “He’s shown that he wants to be a part of country week and hopefully will be a long-term captain.” Great Northern kick off their campaign at country week on Friday against Goldfields in what promises to be a tough, gritty contest. All the country week matches can be watched live and free on Streamer. FIXTURES COLTS: (Div 1) Thursday, July 10 10am vs Great Southern 1pm vs South West 2pm vs Peel Friday, July 11: FINALS LEAGUE: (Div 1) Friday, July 11 10am vs Goldfields 1pm vs Avon Saturday, July 12 11am vs South West 2pm vs Peel Sunday, July 13: FINALS THE SQUADS GREAT NORTHERN LEAGUE Jayden Wall (Mullewa) Michael Quick (Brigades) Jamie Williams (Northampton) Kristian Papertalk (Mullewa) Beau Simpson (Chapman Valley) Kristefer Ryder (Mullewa) Kobe Simpson (Chapman Valley) Shane Bonney (Mullewa) Seth Farmer (Railways) Ewan Whitley (Chapman Valley) Shaun Brennan (Rovers) Izak Ronan (Brigades) Jack Deschamp (Brigades) Callum Marquis (Towns) Jamie Ryder (Mullewa) Ringo McKenna (Captain; Chapman Valley) Braden Jupp (Northampton) Blake Tazewell (Rovers) Gus Heberle (Northampton) Jaylen Parsons (Towns) River Sandells (Rovers) Hassan Ahmat-Watkins (Brigades) Leon Galby (Mullewa) Drew Forrester (Towns) Kieran Harris (Northampton) Tyrone Papertalk (Chapman Valley) Dwayne Nevill (Rovers) Clayton Parfitt (Rovers) Kane Simpson (Chapman Valley) Gregg Galby (Mullewa) GREAT NORTHERN COLTS Raymon Bonney (Towns) Austin Breen (Brigades) Jack Bright (Brigades) Kobi Bursill (Rovers) Jasper Cook (Railways) Cohen Crudeli (Railways) Calarni Dann (Railways) Greg Galby (Mullewa) Jordan Gould (Chapman Valley) Eli Grigsby (Railways) Rex Heberle (Northampton) Jimmy Horsman (Brigades) Mick Horstman (Chapman Valley) Leon Jones (Towns) Austin Main (Towns) Jett McDonald (Brigades) Mathew Moore (Railways) Sheldon Nelly (Rovers) Cody Nelson (Brigades) Lucas Ronan (Brigades) Caylon Seelander (Mullewa) Caleb Sewell (Towns) James Simmons (Towns) Kane Simpson (Chapman Valley) Gus Spalding (Railways) Cassius Wall (Mullewa) Ethan Hankin (Towns) Curtis Smith (Rovers)