News

From The Mercury
Reported by Brett Stubbs

DEVILS coach Daryn Cresswell has hit back angrily at Port Melbourne president Peter Saultry, who advised the Tasmanian VFL side to cut its partial alignment with the Kangaroos.

Saultry said in Saturday's Mercury Port was like a new club after cutting its ties with the Kangaroos at the end of 2005.

"I think he (Saultry) should stick to running his own footy club and not worry about ours," Cresswell said.

"I thought the Kangaroos players were terrific (against Port Melbourne) and I have got nothing but praise for our involvement with the Kangaroos and the way they have gone about things in the way they have structured things with players coming down.

"I challenged the players coming down and today they stood up, every one of them."

Cresswell had the Mercury article pinned up on the white board in the changerooms prior to Saturday's 26-point loss to Port Melbourne in front of 1825 fans at Bellerive, with Saultry's comments highlighted and under a headline of "Everybody Read!"

"I showed our guys that, in particular the ones from Melbourne and I thought they responded well to it," he said.

"I was shocked he would come out and use those things when he doesn't really know the insights of what is happening between us and the Kangaroos."

Saturday's loss was the Devils' seventh in a row, but most of the players will switch attention from VFL to state football as Tasmania takes on Queensland at Aurora on Saturday.

Cresswell said the change of focus and the introduction of some players outside the Devils system would be welcomed.

"Definitely, I have got some new players coming in like Benny Atkin, Andrew Cox from North Hobart and Alex Gilmour from Brighton," Cresswell said.

"Gilmour and Cox in my opinion should be playing with us. I would love to have them because they are good enough to play at the level, there is no doubt about that."

The Devils will make a decision today whether to contest forward Brodie Moles' striking and charging reports from Saturday's game.