OVENS and Murray coach Matt Pendergast says he would welcome boom Yarrawonga recruit Brendan Fevola into the representative fold with open arms.
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Pendergast, who officially accepted a second season in charge of the side yesterday, could have one of the best interleague teams in league history for May’s showdown with Hampden at Visy Park.
“It would be fantastic to have Fev on board but he’s sort of doing the bare minimum at Yarra so I wouldn’t expect him to play,” Pendergast said yesterday.
“But it’s at Visy Park and might be around the corner from where he’s living so if he puts his hand up it would be fantastic.
“There’s a lot of young talent in the league to pick from, too.”
Pendergast is hoping star Wodonga Raiders recruits Patty Rose, Ben Davies and David Stretton also make themselves available for the May 27 game.
“(Corey) Lambert’s actually said they are really keen to get involved so we might have to organise maybe a Melbourne training base or something like that,” Pendergast said.
“If they show interest they’d definitely be in the team, but we also want to try and keep the nucleus of the team from last year.
“The Mornington league have had the same sort of team for the last three or four years and that’s the secret.”
The O and M is desperate to move back up the Victorian Country Championships ladder after slipping to No. 5.
It will play in the 7 v 8 game if it loses to Hampden, with last year’s two-point loss to Mornington Peninsula-Nepean at Frankston still raw for O and M general manager Tom O’Connor.
“Last year we committed verbally to Penda that we wanted to keep the same team together that went down to Frankston last year,” O’Connor said.
“The group of guys who participated last year ... we want them all back involved because everyone was left feeling pretty gutted after that two-point loss.
“We want some redemption and to head back up the ladder.”
Pendergast has represented the O and M 10 times, including four as skipper, and last year became the league’s first playing coach in 30 years.
The Lavington star, who took over the post from Robbie Jackson, said he had unfinished business.
“There’s a lot of new recruits in the league and I’m excited to work with them and for the comp’s sake it looks really healthy,” Pendergast said.
