Big V Men’s team announced ahead of PFL clash

Big V Men’s coach Greg Hutchison has trimmed his squad to 25 players ahead of the VAFA’s clash against the Perth Football League at Steel Blue Oval in Bassendean on Sunday July 7.

Hutchison and his selection panel have had the challenging task of squeezing so much available talent into one team. The 18 players on the field are locked in, with the final four players to come from the extended interchange bench.

“We entered the selection process with a really open mind,” said Hutchison, who is coaching the Big V for a second consecutive year.

Hutchison has looked to reward players involved in last season’s successful campaign while also welcoming new faces into the squad.

“We’ve got a good blend of youngsters and more seasoned players. We have some first-timers, which is always exciting, plus some veterans from the successful 2023 campaign who can provide experience and help fast-track our rookies.

“There were some players that weren’t available last year but are this time around, and they get their opportunity to put their hand up too.”

Hutchison is pleased with the balance in the line-up across all zones.

“We have some forwards who can pinch-hit in the ruck, so we’ve gone with one specialist ruckman and he’ll have a great balanced midfield at his feet. Guys who can win their own footy inside but also provide good run and spread as well.

“Plus our mids can go forward and kick goals, which is important. I’m really happy with our midfield mix.

“Similarly in defence, we’ve got a mix of guys who can lock down, as well as guys who are naturally more attacking intercept rebounding types, plus some who can do either for us depending on what we need at any given time.  Again, that versatility will help us get our defensive balance right.

“I’ve always been a defensive coach by nature but with the talent in this team, I’m more than happy to let them off the leash to create a brand of footy that is exciting to play and watch. I’m pretty keen to showcase our talent and let the players enjoy themselves as long as they play team-first footy, of course.

“We’ve had a great vibe at our training sessions. The group has really enjoyed coming together to team up with players they normally play against on Saturdays.

“We’ve got every Premier Men’s club in the team except Uni Blues, who are unlucky given we had 5 Blues in our initial squad but we lost a few to injury and a couple to unavailability unfortunately.

“I want to thank our coaches and clubs around the League because their support has been fantastic. They’ve been pushing their players to get involved, which is critical to the success of the Big V.

“It’s a great honour to be selected and something that the players and their clubs should rightly celebrate.”

The final team will be presented with their jumpers at the 2024 Big V Luncheon, to be held on Friday, July 5 at the RACV City Club. See event details and purchase tickets here.

The VAFA Big V Men’s team will play the Perth Football League on Sunday, July 7 at Steel Blue Oval in Perth. The match will be live-streamed on VAFA.com.au and KommunityTV.