From Hobart Mercury
Reported by Brett Stubbs
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THE TSL's best 22 can match it with the powerful VFL despite the predictions of many to the contrary, former Brisbane listed ruckman Bart McCulloch believes.
A young but highly talented Tasmanian side will take on the VFL at Blundstone Arena on Saturday, with some fearful the home side could be in for an awful hiding.
"We've had a couple of training sessions and they have been very enjoyable because they have been at such a high level and the skills have been really good," McCulloch, 21, said.
"It is on our home deck, in front of our home crowd so we are just looking to play a really contested game of footy and hopefully take it up to them and challenge them.
"We would like to think our best 22 is a similar quality to their best 22."
The 197cm, 93kg ruckman-forward spent three years at the Lions but was cruelled by a recurring quadricep injury.
He is in his first year back at his original club, South Launceston, and after a disrupted pre-season is heading back into form with four goals in a best-afield effort in Sunday's win over North Launceston.
"If the opportunity came up (to return to the AFL) that would be great, but it is not something that I'm going to hold on to or pin all my hopes on," he said.
"It was a great opportunity and I learnt a lot of things up there and not just football, but also training alongside blokes like Simon Black and Luke Power.
"I was always looking forward to coming back to Tassie and just playing footy without the pressure.
"That is sometimes when you play your best footy when you are not over-thinking it and you don't have the pressure and you just get out there and enjoy it."
After four years on Port Adelaide's list, Jonathan Giles was delisted without a game, but was taken as a mature-age ruckman by expansion club Greater Western Sydney and has blossomed.
But it is not Giles' pathway back that McCulloch is following.
"It is more so blokes like Jeremy Howe (Hobart to Melbourne) and Aaron Hall (Hobart to the Gold Coast)," McCulloch said.
"That was a factor in coming home that now there is a state league when I left it was SFL and NTFL.
"Those two guys getting drafted had a small influence on me returning. Obviously if you are playing good enough footy you can get drafted as a mature age recruit out of Tassie."
