Broken Hill AFL’s traditional season opener, the Lightning Cup, starts today at the Jubilee Oval from 9am. Sponsored by the Broken Hill Community Credit Union, it is the perfect chance for coaches and players to get a handle on where their team is at ahead of the regular season, which kicks off on ANZAC Day.
The Lightning Cup is a shortened form of AFL, with games played in two 20 minute halves, as opposed to four quarters. After the initial matches, the two losers pair off to play what is effectively a third place playoff, while the winners tackle each other in the Grand Final following that match for their chance to become 2023 Lightning Cup champions.
The women’s competition will kick off proceedings at 9am with West tackling North and then South facing Central straight after.
The men’s competition takes place in the afternoon, with West and North opening proceedings and the South vs Central directly after.
The Lightning Cup is a big day for new Central coach Sheldon Hall, marking his first set of matches in the big seat as Magpies’ head coach.
“I think I am more nervous than when I used to play. It is just a bit different,” Hall told the Truth.
“It’s been a long pre-season. It’ll be good to get out there. We play South first so it will be good to get a measure of where we are at.
‘We have had a few players move away from Broken Hill, so we have a few new faces and a couple of positional changes as well. Luke Barnes will be playing a new role, and Riley Jennings will be too, so that will be something to watch out for.”
South superstar Marc Purcell is looking forward to getting out and playing after a shorter, more intense pre-season under returning coach Craig Thomas.
“We are shaping up really well. It’s been a shorter more intense preseason for us this year,” Purcell told us.
“I am really looking forward to getting into some games in the Lightning Cup.”
“We have had a few of our younger boys take the next step throughout this preseason, so looking forward to them getting some more game time into them and letting them take the reins.”
The Lightning Cup kicks off today – Saturday- at the Jubilee Oval from 9am.
