Football
15 May, 2026
Saints meet Southern Roos
Edenhope Apsley’s senior football side will enter Saturday’s round-six matchup with confidence following their first win of the season, but face a mammoth task as they host Harrow Balmoral.
The Saints won their first game since 2024 in round five with an 87-65 victory over the Swifts, highlighted by an eight-goal second quarter.
And while they meet the three-time defending premiers this weekend, Saints coach Toby Ferguson says he's excited by the challenge that awaits.
“It's going to be a big challenge for us but we're coming off our first win in about 645 days, so we'll carry a lot of confidence into Saturday's game against Harrow,” Ferguson said.
“Obviously they're a wonderful side, but we’ll draw on that confidence and also just embracing the challenge.
“We're taking steps forward every week, and if we can keep showing up and putting in the work together, there's no reason we can't challenge them.”
A number of the key matchups will be in the midfield, where Saints players like Matt Hodge, Corey Williams and Marcus McIntyre have been crucial to the side’s early-season progression.
But they will be tested by a quality midfield group that includes Peter Staude and Will Burbury, who helped Harrow Balmoral to a big 133-54 victory over Natimuk United.
Southern Roos coach Jai Thompson acknowledged the Saints’ round five win, saying his team would need to be well prepared ahead of Saturday.
“Edenhope always seem to play better in their hometown too so we’re going to make sure we do our homework on them,” Thompson said.
“They’ve got some new players in and it takes a bit of time for those teams to gel, but they’ve obviously found a little bit of something to knock over the Swifts in Stawell, which is an impressive feat.”
Asked about his side’s start to the year, the Harrow Balmoral coach said he was pleased with how the team was tracking, adding they were focused on being in strong form in the backhalf of the season.
“We’ve had a fairly tough start to the year going against some good teams,” Thompson said.
“Obviously we had the two-point loss to Quanny, which is not a bad loss for tha time of the year and really relayed some stuff that we needed to work on.
“I think the boys are really starting to get it together.
"Our fitness is closer to where we want it and, if we keep building over th next couple of games, we will hit the back end of the year primed and where we want to be.”