Veteran Sutherland goalkeeper Nathan Denham believes Rockdale City striker Jordan Figon’s defection from the Sharks at the start of the season has added some extra spice to Sunday’s derby.
Sutherland will look to spring an upset at the Ilinden Sports Centre against their high-flying rivals as they continue to build under new coach Grant Lee.
As well as the usual pride that comes associated with a derby, there will be some added personal incentive for Denham.
Sutherland junior Figon scored against his former club in the reverse fixture in a 2-0 win over the Sharks at Seymour Shaw Park in April – something Denham hasn’t forgotten.
“There’ll be a bit of added flavour to it with our good mate Figon there now. He scored against me last time,” he said.
“It was a [huge loss]. Not only as a player but he’s a quality bloke. I got along with him well for many years and it was like losing a mate as well as a teammate. He’s scoring goals at Rockdale which is a good thing for him.
“[But] it’d be lovely to keep a clean sheet this weekend especially against those blokes and Jordy. He’s a quality player and we’ll have to be at our best.”
The 32-year-old Denham is the experienced head of Sutherland’s backline with Lee handing debuts to young defenders Harry Quirk and Sutherland junior Robbie Watson in recent weeks.
And Denham believes the youngsters have earned their places in the team.
“I had a word with a couple of them before last week and just said you’re here because someone has faith and believes in you. It’s good to encourage and coach the young players,” he said.
”You can’t buy experience. Experience is something you’ve got to work towards and gain over time. Obviously there’s a few young boys getting game time now. We had a very young backline last week. And with those experiences they’re only going to get better. There’s definitely the talent in the squad, it’s just about getting that match time.
“It’s often the case with a change of manager it brings a change in atmosphere and straight away the boys were feeling like it was a fresh start.
“Since then we’ve had some good results and some others that probably should have gone our way too if not for a lapse here and there.
“The coach has got a lot to do with creating the atmosphere around the place and since he’s come in his communication and words of encouragement for the boys have really helped that.”
Kick-off is at 3pm.
