CHARLES Sturt University (CSU) coach Daniel Athanitis plans to give former West Coast Eagles star Daniel Kerr free rein in Friday night’s guest appearance.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kerr will line up for CSU in the Bushpigs’ round three showdown with reigning premier East Wagga-Kooringal at Robertson Oval.
The 33-year-old will arrive in Wagga in good touch after booting seven goals in the past fortnight in appearances for clubs in Victoria and Tasmania.
Athanitis has not settled on his plan for Kerr but said his time will be spent between the midfield and up forward.
“Most clubs have been playing him through the midfield and up forward so we’ll probably do exactly the same,” Athanitis said.
“I’ll pretty much leave it up to him and where he’s going to help us the most. He’s been kicking goals, which is good and what we want.
“I’m certainly not going to tell him how to play the game or anything like that, I’ll leave that to him.
“I think he’ll be a leader for us out there, considering how young we are, so that will be good.”
Athanitis is looking forward to the opportunity of coaching the former star.
“I haven’t really thought about it too much because of round one. I didn’t want it to take away from our round one focus, which was very important to us,” he said.
“But now, it is exciting and I’m looking forward to tapping into his knowledge.
“He’s going to be a good weapon to have, he’s not going to win us the game off his own boot but he’ll be good to have out there.”
With a lot of interest surrounding Kerr’s appearance, and the decision to play the game on a Friday night under lights, this shapes as CSU’s biggest game in years.
Athanitis understands that and said the Bushpigs will be there to upstage the Hawks and grab four crucial points.
“You have got to go into every game thinking you can win the game,” he said.
“The past two times we’ve played East Wagga it has been uni holidays...but we’ve got no excuses on Friday night.
“We’re certainly going in thinking we can win the game, but East Wagga are still a really strong side.
“It’s not just about the crowd and getting people along to the game, we want the four points. It will put us on the map and get us a bit more respect.”
Athanitis said he was ‘disappointed but certainly not disheartened’ with CSU’s opening loss to Temora.
