Sebastopol Vikings to field new signings in Australia Cup fixture

The Vikings host State League 5 opponent Barwon in the third round of the Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup, on Saturday.

The match will be the first competitive hit-out in Vikings colours for Romein brothers Tristan, Josh and Shaun, who all crossed from Ballarat City in the off-season.

Vikings coach Corey Smith said the Cup tie was a good chance to introduce the new faces.

"It's a really good opportunity for pre-season minutes so we'll select a squad based on players who need the minutes at this stage," he told The Courier.

"It is a Cup game, so of course, we're going to try and put our best foot forward, but really it's more about making sure our players that need minutes get them.

"We'll try and play our style and get on the front foot, but we won't do too much homework on the opposition. At this stage, it's more relevant to treat it like a pre-season game and get ready for round one."

Josh Romein, equally capable in the heart of midfield of defence, arrives having played over 300 games for Ballarat City and coached the club for the second half of the 2021 NPL3 season.

Brothers Shaun and Tristan were also mainstays in City's starting line-up.

"(They'll bring) a lot of experience, and that's probably something we missed last year when we were flying high and going towards promotion," Smith said.

"We had a lot of quality and a lot of talent, but we didn't have a lot of experience.

"Those three coming in will add that and bring an elite mentality."

The Vikings bowed out in the fourth round of the national knockout tournament last year. Domestically, they won nine of their 14 games to sit third before the State League 3 North-West season was abandoned due to COVID-19.

The Vikings play Barwon at St Georges Reserve on Saturday with kick-off at 3pm. The State League season starts on March 19.

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