by Aaron Kirkby-Rodier (@AzKirkby9)
RYAN Mullett has been named captain of the EFL interleague side to take on the VAFA this Saturday at VISY Park.
The 31-year-old will lead the league for the second time, after he was named skipper for the 2012 Challenge Match against the VAFA.
Mullett will have strong support from Balwyn’s Rennie Gilchrist and Noble Park’s Stewart Kemperman, who were named vice captains after the EFL’s final training session at Knox Gardens Reserve on Wednesday night.
The star Vermont midfielder strongly supports the EFL playing representative football, saying it is a “good format” to participate in.
“It’s something that the EFL hasn’t really done a great deal over the years,” Mullett said.
“Footy training’s been pretty exciting. The footys have been zinging around and we look forward to getting there.”
AFL VICTORIA’S EFL-VAFA MATCH PREVIEW
Mullett and other Vermont interleague teammates played just one half of the Eagles’ practice game against Montmorency on Sunday, with ruckman Simon Taylor sitting out the clash all together.
He is full of praise for his interleague coach and back-to-back Balwyn premiership coach Daniel Donati.
“‘Nutsy [Donati] has been great. I played a bit of footy with him back in the day and he was gun player and he seems the same as a coach,” Mullett said.
“He’s just a really good fella. He’s made it really easy.
“He’s looking to bring a game style that’s going to suit the way we play, so we’re hoping to see some really fast, free-flowing footy. We’re really looking forward to it.”
Mullett admits the VAFA is a team and league with great experience in representative games.
Despite that advantage, the Vermont skipper highly rates his team’s chance of winning in front of big crowd at the prestigious Visy Park.
“With the players we’ve got down there this season, I think we really do have the best of the best,” Mullett said.
“Over the last few years we haven’t been able to get our best side together, while the Ammo’s [VAFA] obviously play it every year.
“We do want to get the No.1 ranking back. I don’t think we have had a fair chance at it and there are no excuses this year. You’re playing on a good oval, a good deck with plenty of space. So I’m pretty confident we will get the job done this year.”
