By DAVID NAGEL
HAMPTON PARK will host the first ever game in the newly-formed South East Football League when the Redbacks welcome Doveton for a Good Friday pipe-opener at Robert Booth Reserve.
The Easter-showdown is guaranteed to run for at least two years, with the Doves to reciprocate with a return bout in 2016.
Hampton Park vice-president Mick O’Brien is confident however that momentum will build and the contest will become a regular fixture in years to come.
“It’s very exciting for both clubs, particularly being a stand-alone game where we can both show off our new talent and get the year off to a positive start,” O’Brien said.
“From a club point of view, we’d love to host finals again so hopefully we get a big crowd and we build this into something big.”
The exciting news doesn’t end there for the Redbacks, who will welcome back former club junior and St Kilda star Stephen Milne for their Round 2 clash against reigning premier Beaconsfield on Saturday April 18. Milne will take training in the week leading up to the match and O’Brien said the club was thrilled to have him on board.
“His intention is to play at a few clubs this season but he offered the first game to us and we couldn’t be more delighted,” O’Brien said.
“He’s a former Hampton Park junior and still has good relationships with some people at the club so it’s exciting for us all to have him back, even if it is only for that one week.”
O’Brien said the Good Friday and Milne experiments were vital for a club that has had to go it alone in recent times.
“We get very little help from council so we need to come up with new ideas to try and re-invigorate the club,” he said.
“The reality is we need to work hard over the next two or three years, or however long it takes for the league to bring in divisional football, so we can be competitive again and get this club to flourish.”
All Hampton Park juniors who wear club colours on Good Friday will get in for free, while match-balls will be raffled at half-time, and at the end of the game, with proceeds being donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
Milne’s number 44 jumper will also be auctioned off at a Q and A session that will take place in the clubrooms after the game against Beaconsfield.
The Redbacks are also battling with numbers for both their under-18 and under-19 teams and would like interested players to contact the club immediately.
