Murray rides to rescue

SFL coach Jon Murray has the toughest job in football today — trying to make a rag-tag rep team that hasn’t trained together competitive against the NTFA.

He admits he doesn’t know all the players’ names and that some of the squad are only fringe players, but the former New Norfolk premiership coach has courageously put his hand up to take the job on.

Because of a spate of injuries and lack of interest, today’s game at North Hobart Oval was almost scrapped.

Original co-coaches, Daniel Willing and Matthew Smith, both pulled the pin after only four of 40 players turned up to training, with Murray agreeing to step in on Thursday.

“It is a little bit of a shock but I didn’t want to leave the southern boys in the lurch so I’m quite happy to help out,” Murray said. “It is more or less to give the young guys a little bit of guidance; they are very inexperienced, very young.

“I don’t know how many blokes have actually played senior football. Probably the hardest thing for me is learning the blokes’ names prior to starting on Saturday.

“But all I can try to do is go back to the basics and make sure they are enjoying them- selves and making sure they are giving 110 per cent.”

He believes there is passion in SFL football, but the league needs to find a better way to harness it.

“Without making it very enticing and dangling the carrot in front of them, it is very hard to get these guys to commit because nine times out of 10 you are always carrying an injury or want to have a rest,” he said.

“I don’t know what they do up north, maybe someone needs to go up there and find out how they get their guys to commit to representative football and take a leaf out of their book.”

It is going to be a tough ask for the SFL, with today’s opponents containing former TSL best and fairest and North Launceston premiership ruckman Daniel Roozendaal.

“Someone is going to have a battle on their hands, he’s a man mountain in the state league,” Murray said. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to be pretty dominant.”

The under-18 colts start at noon with the seniors at 2pm.