Mix of the old and new

FUTURE guns and mature-age VFL recruits will showcase their skills at Toomuc Reserve, Pakenham, this Saturday when the Casey Scorpions take on Box Hill Hawks in a pre-season practice match which is expected to draw several thousand spectators.
Pakenham Football Club president Greg Marshall said it would be a big day of football starting from 11am and would be a chance for the junior footballers to come out and see some quality football.
“We’re excited to be hosting the game,” he said.
“We’ll have the canteen and bar up and running and, hopefully, our juniors will take the opportunity to come and see some of the future stars of the AFL playing on our ground.”
The match was originally scheduled for Casey Fields but the City of Casey deemed their ground as “not up to par”.
“We’ve got one of the best grounds in Victoria,” Marshall said.
“You see AFL preseason games held up in Shepparton, but the Hawks train down here three times a year.”
Former Gippsland Power midfielder Tim Northe will take the field for his new VFL team and play under his former coach, Damian Carroll, who was announced as a development coach late last year.
Carroll will be pitted against his former coach, Bradley Gotch, this weekend with plenty of experience behind him.
He took Gippsland Power to a grand final in the TAC Cup last year, played 233 games for the Springvale Scorpions and played in three premierships.
“It should be an exciting day for families and kids to come and soak up some VFL action,” Marshall said.
Casey Scorpions and Box Hill Hawks Reserves will kick off at 11am followed by the seniors at 2pm at Toomuc Reserve this Saturday 5 March.