AFTER two straight wins under new coach Marcus Demaria, Koondrook-Barham will face their toughest test yet when they face-off against the Mallee Eagles on Saturday – a team considered by many to be the one to beat this season.
Having shocked the reigning premiers last round, the Raiders confidence should be sky high, with the new look playing group starting the season 2-0 for the first time since 2019.
But despite their win over the Demons sending a message that they are no longer the Central Murray easy beats, Koondrook-Barham will have to take their game to another level according to Demaria, with Saturday’s opponent also starting their campaign undefeated.
“It would have been good to keep playing and keep that momentum rolling on, but Saturday will obviously be a big game for us so a freshen up isn’t the worst thing either,” Demaria told The Guardian this week.
“They (Mallee Eagles) look like the benchmark side at the moment and if you have a look at their team, they’re strong in all areas of the ground.
“Down back, they’re strong with their intercept marking and their ability to run, they’re strong through the midfield and they’re strong up forward, there’s no real weak link in any facet of their game or on the ground.
“We know that we’ll have to do our homework and put a lot of work into stopping them through the midfield, but we’ll embrace the challenge like we did last week and see how we go.”
Making the Raiders task harder will be the absence of key defender Isaac Corvo, along with ball winners Will Lake, Jake Thrum and Nathan O’Toole, with the latter needing to pass a fitness test on a hamstring strain to play.
The news isn’t all bad for the visitors however, with Michael Grant coming into the side to help cover the loss of Corvo, while developing forward Ryleigh Wilkinson should return for his second game of senior football.
It’s a vastly different scenario for the home side however, who should have a full squad to pick from, which is a good problem to have, according to co-coach Brent Macleod.
“It’s not easy trying to squeeze everyone in and it’s just about balancing what suits us from week to week,” Macleod said.
“We have great depth within our squad, but at the end of the day, it’s really hard picking a team at the moment because there’s really no reason for some of the guys to be playing two’s based on form.
“It’s a great problem to have and if this is the biggest problem we’re going to have this year then we’ll be pretty happy.”
With rain predicted across the weekend, conditions could prove to be less conducive to fast ball movement, which was an area where Koondrook-Barham surprised during their nine-point win over NNW United.
The other big improvement came from the Raiders front half, with key forwards Kye Attwell, Ryan Bassett and Kyall Parker all influencing the match in the air against the smaller Demons defence.
Although the expected wet weather could play into the hands of the Eagles and their strong contested ball winning game style, Demaria is still expecting his team to be up to the challenge of nullifying the game at the source.
“I think it could prove to be similar to our last game for us in terms of (Jacob) Barrington giving our midfielders first use in tight and around the contest,” Demaria said.
“That was an area that we really thought we could get them (NNW United) last week, but when you have a look at the Eagles, they have some bigger bodies in the middle with Harry Allen, (Brent) Macleod, (Shaun) Harrison, they have some bigger bodies that can work through there.
“But I think the key for us is probably covering their receivers more than their ball winners, that’s going to be our aim this week, covering off their laterals and their 45 kicks.
“They (Mallee Eagles) take their time with their ball movement, they’re quite methodical with the way they work the ball forward.
“We want to be taking those laterals and those options away and I think if we can do that and force them to kick down the line, hopefully we can create some turnovers that way.”
It will be a similar approach from the Eagles, who will also be aiming to affect the way the new look Raiders move the ball in the conditions, especially their willingness to bring the ball back through corridor and create one-on-one’s for their three tall forwards.
“For us, it’s about controlling the middle and ensuring that they (Koondrook-Barham) don’t generate play and run from their back half,” Macleod said.
“That’s going to come down to our press which we see as a strength and hopefully our defensive press will help combat and take away their attacking avenues.
“Balancing our press, eliminating exit points out of stoppages and retaining the footy in our forward half are the keys for us.
“We really want to maintain the footy in our forward half and the most important structure for us is the forward line stoppage.
“Getting that opportunity inside our forward half helps us retain the footy just with our ability to get repeat entries with our numbers behind the press.”
Although Koondrook-Barham have shown themselves to be one of the Central Murray’s big improvers this season, whether they are able to handle the Eagles dominant forward line and well organised defence will be the key to success Saturday – and it might just prove to be a task too difficult at this stage of their campaign.
Tip – Mallee Eagles to win by 20 points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Dominic Makur v Jacob Barrington
With Kieren Bourke yet to make an appearance this season for the Eagles, Makur has helped fill the void, with the athletic ruckman among his team’s better players against the Saints.
Barrington on the other hand is a completely different prospect, with the Raiders ruckman using his strength to help give his midfielders first use in wins over Tyntynder and NNW United.
Barrington has been a key factor in both wins for the Raiders and although the Eagles will have better depth in the midfield battle on Saturday, if Barrington can again give his onballers first use around the contest, the visitors will at least be in with a chance.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Can Koondrook-Barham’s forward structure prosper against the Eagles back six?
One of the highlights of the Raiders big win over NNW United two weeks ago was the aerial dominance of key forwards Kye Attwell, Kyall Parker and Ryan Bassett, who dominated the Demons undersized backline for three and a half quarters.
As good as they were against the reigning premiers and one of the best intercept defenders in Joel Walsh, you get the feeling they will face a much tougher task against the Eagles backline, with the likes of Joe Halloran, Jayden Post and Tom McGregor likely to pose a more even contest.
Having conceded just seven goals in eight quarters of footy, there’s little doubt that the Eagles back six is a key component to their structure this season, with their key defensive pillars expected to be the perfect antidote to Koondrook-Barham’s big strength.
