Scorpions spark cup contest

By Marc McGowan
UP to eight elite MPNFL football teams may clash in an innovative pre-season cup at Casey Fields next month.
Casey Scorpions general manager Brian Woodman is hoping to organise the competition that would pit sides from the Casey-Cardinia, Nepean and Peninsula leagues against each other.
The matches would involve two 25-minute halves and be played as double-headers on Wednesday or Thursday nights from 7pm.
Woodman is aiming for the grand final to be played on the Thursday before Good Friday.
The grand final would be a full-scale four-quarter match.
“We’ve discussed it with probably three or four clubs and they have wanted more information in the mail, which we are sending out now,” he said.
“We’re looking at inviting the best six to eight teams in the competition to hit out and we’ll just test the water to see how it goes.
“We’ll try and do that in late March or early April.”
Woodman considered a similar concept before last season, but Casey Fields was not in good enough condition.
“The reason we’ve held off until now is because we just had to wait and see how the ground stood up with Melbourne training on it,” he said.
“And even with the really bad heat we’ve had, the grounds people at Casey have been fantastic.
“We want to be able to see that the clubs enjoy it as part of a pre-season ritual and that the supporters enjoy seeing their clubs play some competitive games early against teams they wouldn’t necessarily play.”
AFL club Melbourne could also be involved in some form in the pre-season cup.
Meanwhile, Woodman is delighted with the Scorpions’ 2009 recruits.
Delisted former AFL players Glenn Chivers (St Kilda), 19, and Peter Faulks (Sydney), 20, head the newcomers, while Gippsland Power product Michael Stockdale, 18, leads an impressive bunch of TAC Cup arrivals. Chivers will give Casey a big target up forward and Faulks will slot into the Scorpions’ backline alongside established stars Alex Silvagni and James Wall.
Faulks, a 194cm defender, will help off-set Steven O’Bryan’s departure.
“We’re pretty pleased with the level of recruiting and the quality of the young kids we’ve brought in. We’ve certainly improved our list,” Woodman said.
“The money through interstate football and even at local level continues to escalate at a rate we certainly can’t compete with at this stage and therefore we prefer to continue to try and drive to give the opportunity to quality young kids to play VFL footy.
“They get to play the highest possible level (outside of the AFL), it’s a pathway opportunity and they’re playing with elite AFL players.”