HOUSEMATES Tim Kelly and Tyrone Downie won’t be settling down on the couch for Friday night footy this evening.
Indeed, the young Kangaroo Flat duo will be hoping to provide a spectacle of their own as their side tackles Castlemaine under lights at Dower Park.
The football community will get the chance to watch a battle for premiership points under the new floodlights at the ground for the first time.
Kangaroo Flat will be hoping round two action also better illuminates their true standing in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football League for season 2008.
Youngsters Kelly and Downie seem far from concerned about having to prove anything to the Kangaroo Flat faithful. Both are confident that last week’s mauling by Golden Square will prove an abomination by season’s end and for now the pair are simply enjoying their new surroundings.
‘‘The standard’s better for sure, Golden Square is a tough team, it was fast, a lot faster (than the Loddon Valley Football League) and the skills were better in the actual game,’’ said Kelly, who was recruited from Inglewood.
‘‘The professionalism here is different. There are four or five coaches at every training session, and at Inglewood I didn’t do a pre-season at all, this year I’ve done a pre-season and then having two nights a week helps your fitness on Saturdays, too.
‘‘But I’ve still got to prove myself in the Bendigo league.
‘‘I’ve got to be more accountable and run both ways rather than just chase kicks and work on all areas of my game.’’ Captain Downie could be described as Peter Pan - a 19-year-old leading a band of young men equally as inexperienced and brimming with raw talent.
But Downie has enough faith in his team-mates to know they won’t be described as lost boys by seasons end.
‘‘We are a very young crew I suppose and we’re all trying to do the same thing, trying to improve our footy and trying to get to the same place,’’ Downie said.’ ‘I think we got talked up a bit (before round one), we knew we had a lot of work to do.
‘‘We were disappointed, but we didn’t really expect to win, but we didn’t think it would be that big a loss, either.
‘‘We’ve got to be working each week just to keep backing ourselves and just try and play four quarters of footy.
‘‘They were much stronger and fitter than we were and their skills were a lot better than ours, they’re a good side, there’s no doubt about it and they’ll be up there this year.’’ Should Kangaroo Flat defeat Castlemaine this year, it will be an important rite of passage as the club attempts to gain leverage over the other sides fighting to make ground on the BFL big four - Eaglehawk, Gisborne, Golden Square and South Bendigo.
‘‘It should be good, hopefully there’s a bit of a crowd and it’ll be interesting under the new lights,’’ Kelly said.
‘‘We’re definitely going out to win this week that’s for sure, we think we’re a really good chance.’’