Orbost Snowy Rovers will open its 2026 East Gippsland Football Netball Club campaign at home against last year’s grand finalist, Lucknow this Saturday.
The Blues will go in without Byron Vickery (ankle), Max Welsh (knee) and Charlie Mein (knee) but will still put a competitive side on the park which is always hard to beat at home.
Last year the Blues were only beaten
once at home by Boisdale Briagolong, claiming victories against both grand finalists,
Wy Yung and Lucknow.
There has been a coaching change, with Brett Morrison and Clancy Bennett taking on a joint role, replacing Peter Seal.
Both have had an active involvement in Seal’s coaching panel in recent seasons.
Bennett coached Mirboo North to a Mid Gippsland Football Netball League premiership, while Morrison has been prolific at junior level.
New editions for 2026 Matthew Holmes and Bryan Leslie will take the field, Holmes likely to start in the ruck, with Leslie playing as a small forward.
A big loss for the Blues is former captain and prodigious goal kicker, Hamish Nettleton who will play at Heyfield.
Lachlan Fenner is also missing, currently travelling around Australia.
Despite the loss of Nettleton, the Blues still have plenty of fire power in the forward half, with Wes Russell, Jacob Kane and Tom Smith expected to play key roles.
The benefits of a good junior program have rewarded Orbost in recent seasons, with talented youngsters Bobby Bills, Angus Joiner, Finn Donnellan, Ty Robinson and
Tom Macalister expected to line up in the seniors this week.
Perennial slow starters in recent seasons, the Blues will be keen to register an early win against a Lucknow side which won’t have Dion Grace, Jake Richards, Brendan Flinn, Ryan Halford, Joel McNamara, Shaun Mooney, John Gooch, Andrew Nelson, Bayley Croucher, Reuben O’Brien and Glenn Perkins in the side from last year’s grand final.
Some of those will join the fray in the coming weeks, while others have defected to other clubs or undecided if they will play.
Matt Corbett, Ricky Tatnell (Bairnsdale) and Jayke Andrews (Maffra) lead the ins, but the Magpies will be hoping that they can
get a solid impetus from the overflow of
last year’s depth.
The footy is back and we will learn more about both sides on Saturday.
