By: DAVID STOCKDALE
IT is a measure of the team player Brett Geappen is that he views Sunday's clash with North Ballarat at Bellerive as the last chance for the Devils to get back into the VFL finals race.
A personal consideration -- he becomes only the second player after Ian Callinan to play 100 games for the Devils -- pales by comparison.
``It will be an honour to play my 100th VFL game, especially in front front of my home crowd,'' he said yesterday.
``But it will mean a lot more to me if we can beat North Ballarat to break our five-game losing streak and get back into contention for the final eight.
``North Ballarat should have big Sav Rocca back after injury, but seeing they are the other half of the partial alignment with the Kangaroos we're pretty keen to atone for losing to them in round two.''
Geappen, a 25-year-old financial planner, believes there have been plusses to come out of a season in which injuries and suspensions have cost the Devils dearly.
``We've had to turn over quite a few youngsters, and players like Tom Hislop, Mitch Thorp, Jack Riewoldt and Sam Fielding have shown they've got a lot of potential,'' he said.
Geappen is one of the few remaining Devils who played in Tasmania's first VFL side against the then reigning premier Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval in 2001.
``On reflection, it was a sort of bitter-sweet day for us,'' he said. ``It was a huge occasion and we led narrowly at half-time.
`But it was also a pretty warm day. That, plus the fact we hadn't really done a pre-season, found us out in the second half and Sandringham ran over the top of us.
``But I did get to kick our first ever goal in the VFL!''
Last Modified on 27/06/2006 13:13