RESERVES PREVIEW
KERANG and Woorinen will do battle at a wet Swan Hill Recreation Reserve tomorrow afternoon in the Central Murray Football Netball League reserves Grand Final.
With three to six millimetres of rain expected, the game could very well turn into a slog.
However, this shouldn’t be a massive detriment to either side, with the Blues and Tigers having smaller-than-average teams.
“We’ve got a bit of running capacity and in an under players, so if it’s raining, we should be able to carry the ball pretty well,” Kerang coach John Roberts told The Guardian.
“But they have some strong bodies, so it will be interesting to see if they try to bog it down.”
These are clearly the two best sides in the competition, with both only losing a single match throughout the regular season, which was to each other.
Back in round three, the Blues triumphed by 57 points before the Tigers returned the favour in round 13 with a 33-point victory.
Those two matchups meant nothing heading into the semi-final between the sides two weeks ago, where the Blues secured their Grand Final berth with a 23-point win.
“We’ve taken care of business in two of the games against them, but they did beat us at home, so it’s anyone’s match,” Roberts said.
“I think the boys are realistic, and they don’t get ahead of themselves – we take every game on its merits, and the last game doesn’t mean much.”
The Tigers have tried not to overreact to that loss, according to Coach Kyle Steicke, and they’ll be hoping for revenge after accounting for Tyntynder by 40 points in last week’s Preliminary Final.
“We probably don’t need to change too much,” Steicke said.
“Our discipline was the main factor in that loss, I believe, so if we can fix that up, it will go a long way.
“We played a really good game last week, which has given us a lot of confidence coming into this game.”
Both sides are hoping to make critical inclusions.
The week’s break was crucial for the Blues, according to Roberts.
“Most teams, especially in the twos, have niggles, so the week off was great,” he said.
“We had our full back (Tyler Schmidt) miss the semi-final, and it’s given him time to recover.
“He’ll go through a fitness test, and hopefully, he passes because it will be a massive ‘in’ for us.”
For the Tigers, the unfortunate loss of their senior side last week is the reserves’ gain with a couple of key players returning.
“We’ll get Thomas Isma and Jordy Mcinnes back, but Tom played in the semi-final, so it’s not too big a change to the side,” Steicke said.
Roberts is wary of the Tigers’ significant inclusions but is confident his men can match it with the Tigers’ senior experience.
“Every game is a challenge, especially a Grand Final, and with their seniors getting knocked out, they’ll have a couple come back, so that tightens things up,” Roberts said.
“Last time, they had Zac Cordwell, Joseph Kelly, Isma and the two Iannucci boys – all their core group of players are dangerous once they start linking up – but they all played in the semi, and we were able to match it with them.”
This game is a real toss of the coin – it will come down to whoever handles the conditions better.
The week off for the Blues might prove crucial come later in the contest as the Tigers tire on a heavy track.
Kerang by 8
COLTS PREVIEW
Two weeks after a Semi-Final upset, Kerang and Lake Boga will again go head-to-head in the colts’ Grand Final.
The Magpies headed into the semi after finishing two games clear of the rest of the competition and had accounted for the Blues comfortably by 61 points only a month earlier.
But the Blues turned the tables on the minor premiers with an incredible comeback win, kicking five goals to one in the final term to be victorious by three points.
Whether this will turn out to be a mental scare for the Magpies is yet to be seen, but the Blues will certainly always believe they are in the contest tomorrow.
The Magpies returned to winning ways in the Preliminary Final last weekend with a 125-point thrashing of Koondrook-Barham.
The point of difference from two weeks ago for the Magpies might come down to one man, named Dustin Burns.
Burns has been a revelation in Boga’s senior side this year, and after their week two finals loss to Woorinen, he returned to the colts’ side last week, where he nailed four goals.
The expected wet conditions might suit the Magpies, with their defence easily the best in the competition conceding 245 points less than anyone else this season.
Whilst the Blues have had the week off, these factors mean the Magpies might be going in as slight favourites.
Magpies by 3
UNDER 14.5s PREVIEW
Swan Hill is the very definition of red hot favourites heading into the Under 14.5s Grand Final.
They have gone undefeated this season, including winning every game by the mercy rule throughout the regular season.
The Swans defeated tomorrow’s opponents Lake Boga by 81 points in the Semi-Final.
With it being a home game for the Swans, there can only be one winner here.
Swans by 55
