SOUTH Fremantle Premiership coach John Dimmer will lead the West Australian Football League into this year's State clash againts Victoria at Medibank Stadium.Scheduled for Saturday, May 22, the game will see WA attempt to follow the success of last season's thrilling one-point win over South Australia.
Dimmer is well equipped to replace outgoing State coach Scott Watters, having coached the Bulldogs to two flags in his six seasons at the helm and never finishing outside the top four.
He also coached WA against South Australia in 1996 and spent five years as coach of West Perth and seven years as Claremont reserves coach. Dimmer said he was looking forward to the challenge of returning to State duties and the opportunity to climb further up the pecking order in interstate rivalry.
"We moved up the ladder slightly with our win over South Australia last year and to beat the VFL would definitely be another step in the right direction," he said.
"We will pick our initial squad in late April, about a month out from the game, because we really want players in peak form. You can't pick them too early because form fluctuates."
After losing to South Australia in 1996, Dimmer turned down the offer to coach WA again when South Fremantle won the flag in 2005, due to work commitments.
He said he was in a much better position to coach this year with a reduced workload.
"Working and coaching at the same time, it was very difficult to do it justice, but this season will be a lot better," he said.
"I will draw on some of the other coaches in the league to help with selections but nothing is confirmed yet."
Last time WA played Victoria was in 2007 at TEAC Oval in Port Melbourne. Coached by Ashley Prescott and captained by Shane Woewodin, WA was defeated convincingly 25.11 (161) to 5.12 (42).
The last home game against Victoria at Medibank Stadium was in 2004, with WA falling just 11 points short. Coached by Chris Waterman and captained by Brad Smith, WA lost 10.9 (69) to 8.10 (58).
