Sunday is no day of rest for Elmore brothers James and Joe Harney, in fact, they work 18 hours every Sunday during winter in order to fulfil one of their shared passions — football.
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It is tools down for the farming siblings on Saturday, which is set aside for football duties. This year the beneficiary is Echuca United, where the key position pair have landed for the 2022 Murray league season.
The brothers will appear in Friday’s annual blockbuster against Moama for the first time, hoping to put behind them a slow start to the season as the Eagles aim to improve on their results against Tongala and Deniliquin.
In a quirk of the draw the Echuca United team has faced the three teams most fancied to play off in this season’s Murray league grand final.
This will be the first Good Friday game, in any league, for the brothers. They have played most of their career with Elmore in the Heathcote league.
Neither are fully across the significance of the Three Jacks Cup, named in honour of three long-serving stalwarts of the Moama, Echuca South and Echuca East clubs.
“I haven’t got fully across the meaning of the Three Jacks Cup yet. I would assume we we will hear a bit about it during the week,” James said.
James is a 29-year-old key forward and Joe, five years his junior, has been filling a key defensive post for most of his senior football years.
“Joe played under-18 at Rochester and came to Elmore as a 19-year-old. We played five seasons of senior football together,” James said.
James played 10 years of senior footy at Elmore before the shift to Echuca United, racking up about 135 seniors and 30 reserves matches in that time.
“I had one year at Rochester in the under-18 competition, but as a junior I was always at Elmore,” he said.
The Harney brothers are filling in key position posts at Echuca United, but are by no means of that stature.
“We have always been reasonably tall, but a skinnier build,” James said.
“I was as skinny like Joe at his age. I suppose our game is built around jumping at the football, not wrestling with opponents.
“We try not to engage in a strength test. Joe does it really well.
“He played unreal on Saturday (against Deniliquin Rams) in the backline. He backs off and jumps over his opponent regularly.”
Joe is expected play in defence all year, either at centre half-back or fullback.
"He was a forward in his first two seasons and wasn’t comfortable. He is much better as a play-from-behind defender,“ James said.
Joe fronted up against Deniliquin Rams forward Todd Gallagher on Saturday, after the goalkicker had kicked 10 a week earlier.
He faces the same situation this week, as Moama key forward Stuart Taylor kicked 10 goals last week.
This after having spent a period of the match on Tongala star Darren Ewing in round one.
“We’ve had a tough draw to start the season. We have played some very strong teams,” James said.
James has taken on a senior on-field role in the absence of injured coach Farran Priest, who is currently coaching from the sidelines.
“He has got me running the forward line. I am starting deeper, at full forward, but if the footy isn’t coming down I am presenting a bit higher,” he said.
James said the opening two games of the year had shown him the Murray league was a very strong competition.
"The two sides I have seen would beat almost all of the Heathcote league sides.“
James is used to facing on-field challenges; the 10 years he played at Elmore resulted in only one elimination final appearance, which he admits the team lost by a fair margin.
“I’ve always been in a young or inexperienced side. I’ve been on the end of a few big defeats, so that Tongala team took me back,” he said.
James said the level of commitment to training and taking in everything that the senior coach was preaching "was unreal’’.
“Rarely do you see the players dropping their heads. They had a tough year last year and it is a tough start, but we know if we keep showing up it will change.
“The vibe has been good, the numbers at training are excellent and effort isn’t dropping off.”
He said getting consistent game time into teenagers Oliver Poole, Kynan Sharp and Angus Jackson would pay off down the track
“Once they’ve played seven or eight games we will reap the rewards.”
James has only played played half a game with Priest, when the United coach was at Elmore, because he had an early injury and only saw about 15 minutes of game time.
He said the onfield leadership of James Harney, club captain Justin Cantwell and vice-captain Phil Hubbard, along with Mitch Lourey and Brad Anderson would ensure the side’s effort remained high.
Bailey Boyack has also come across from Elmore, to play at United, and has been super in the mid-field.
James said he expected his coach to return some time mid-season, if his re-hab kept going the way it was.
“He jumps into some jogging, handball and straight line kicking stuff at the moment. He is not rushing back. It would be good to have him as a mid to late season injection,” James said
As for the farm, the brothers are just getting organised to start sowing crops.
“I’ve been able to find a way to always fit football in. Sundays are usually an 18-hour day,” James said.
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