Football
11 April, 2026
Demons and Burras equally keen for fresh start
Neither the Demons nor Minyip Murtoa had the best of seasons last year.
But both sides will be looking to kick off this season strongly when they clash at Horsham's City Oval this Saturday.
The Burras and Demons will look a bit different from last season, with both sides having recruited fresh players during the offseason.
For the Horsham side, that includes a goal-kicking midfielder in Charlie Dinning, from the SANFL, along with Brait Headon, while Minyip Murtoa have had Lachie Page, Tom Burrows and Zak O’Shannasey join their ranks.
Demons coach Jake Short said his side was "absolutely pumped" ahead of the game this Saturday.
"We had a good session last night (Tuesday) on the track and everyone is up and about," Short said.
"They've realised that all their hard work over the preseason boils down to this and we're excited to begin the season."
A full squad is available to the Horsham selectors, and Short said there would be some good players who missed out on a spot this week.
"I only learned about four weeks ago that it's a squad of 21, not 22, in this league, so our senior and reserves side will be full, which is a good problem to have," he said.
Being new to the WFNL, Short said he didn't know a lot about any of the other teams so he was relying on a couple of guys to fill him in on players to watch.
"I am expecting a high-quality brand of footy (from Minyip Murtoa) and I'm definitely expecting them to bring the heat," he said.
"I think it's been seven years since Horsham has beaten Minyip so history is on their side, and I'm sure they want to continue that, but we're eager to flip that narrative and get a win on them."
Short said when Horsham didn't have the footy, they needed to focus on their position on the ground and what they were doing to assist their teammates in terms of setting up defensively.
"When we have the footy, I've got no doubt our skill level, our pace and our speed will give the opposition a headache," he said.
"But when we don't have the ball, just where we are on the ground, setting up well, defensively, structurally, and just holding up that way will be our biggest challenge and the thing I will look to coach on the day."