QUAMBATOOK v NULLAWIL
Quambatook will be hoping to secure a finals berth when they host the undefeated Nullawil at Quamby this weekend.
The Saints require just one win from their remaining two games to book a finals spot and will be hoping to get the job done tomorrow and avoid a must win game in the final round of the season against Macorna.
It goes without saying that it will be an extremely difficult task to defeat the one side who has to this point looked unbeatable in 2021.
Nully have so far put together perhaps the most dominant season ever seen in the Golden Rivers, although the one caveat to this is how they return following the season shutdown and what affect the stop-start nature of their campaign has had on the players.
This will be the case for all sides however; and if any team is capable of handling any issues that arise then it’s the Maroons.
Dean Putt will return to the Nullawil line-up from injury to strengthen their ruck division, with the headache for Kyle Doran now where best to deploy Mitch Barry who has been filling the role brilliantly in Putt’s absence.
The big problem facing Tim Free and the Quambatook brains trust will be how they counter the dominant Nully midfield group led by Grant Ford, Matt Quigley and Zac Kelly.
The Saints themselves have a strong on-ball division, but don’t possess the depth that the Maroons have and will need Tobie Cameron and Gregor Knight to do the bulk of the work for much of the afternoon.
The expected return of Brayden Montebruno following his six-match suspension will help add depth through the middle for the Saints, but they will still be up against it, with Nully expected to continue on their merry way towards an undefeated season.
Tip – Nullawil by 24 points.
WANDELLA v MOULAMEIN
A spot in the second semi-final and the prized double chance will go on the line tomorrow afternoon when Wandella and Moulamein clash at Wandella.
Percentage is all that separates the second and third placed teams, both of whom have seven wins on the board in 2021; and with only one game remaining in the home and away season, the winner will likely go on and get first crack at Nullawil in the second week of the finals.
For Moulamein, the month-long break could have potentially come at the perfect time following consecutive thrashings at the hands of Hay and Quambatook prior to the season shut down.
Both performances were very much out of character for the Swans, and coach Heath Moloney would have no doubt used that time on the sidelines to rebuild his team’s confidence.
Moulamein will be a vastly different team this week however, with the Swans set to welcome back a number of key players.
Alex Derzekos, Daniel O’Farrell, Luke Kelson and James Shippen all missed the Swans loss to Quamby, as did their leading goal kicker Andrew Silva, and all five will be back fit and firing tomorrow afternoon.
Silva in particular will be a handy inclusion up forward and will resume his partnership with Michael Morson for the Swans.
Not too be outdone, the Bombers will have a number of big in’s as well, with Mitch Treacy, Brad Delamare, Sam Sperling and Jayden Crellin all likely to play after missing their clubs win over Macorna at their last outing.
Treacy and Delamare will add further depth to the Wandella midfield, while Sperling can be expected to play forward and Crellin to resume in his customary key defensive post.
The Bombers have battled to get their best team on the park consistently this season, but are now starting to put together a formidable line-up as their key players return from injury.
With the promise of the all-important double chance come finals time at stake, one can expect a fiery clash, with both teams putting it all on the line in search of the four points.
Tip – Wandella by 12 points
ULTIMA v MURRABIT
Nathan Henry will finally get the chance to celebrate his 300th senior game for the Blues when Murrabit travels to Ultima tomorrow afternoon.
The four-time premiership player and former premiership coach is a much-loved figure both at Murrabit and within the Golden Rivers competition; and the Blues players would love nothing more than to help their loyal club champion celebrate the milestone with a victory come 5pm tomorrow evening.
Ultima on the other hand would love nothing more than to spoil the party and despite only registering the one victory so far in 2021, the Roo’s had been showing significant signs of improvement in the weeks leading up to the season shutdown.
The big issue for Ultima this season has been down forward, with the Roo’s unable to put a score on the board to trouble their opposition consistently enough.
Ryan Devereux (18) and Kyle Symons (16) are the only Ultima players to have scored double figures this year and the Roo’s simply need to find other avenues to goal in order to be competitive.
Their midfield group is strong enough to match it with the top end talent of most teams, with Mitch Seton-Stewart and Tom Bull both enjoying strong seasons, but they need more assistance from those around them.
The midfield battle will go a long way to deciding the winner of this match, with Marc O’Neill, Bryden Morison and Nathan O’Toole among the leagues most damaging on-ballers on their day.
Murrabit will welcome back Kyle Keane (Quad) and Tom Hetherington (Groin) from injury, with both players set to strengthen the Blues forward half of the ground, however they will lose Josh Bray with an ankle injury. In what is likely to be a toss of the coin game to find a winner, expect the Blues to get up for Henry’s 300th celebrations.
Tip – Murrabit by 3 points.
HAY v MACORNA
The final game of the rescheduled Round 8 will see Hay host Macorna at Moulamein, with the Lions needing a win to keep their finals hopes alive.
With Hay’s season being thrown into turmoil following the border restrictions placed on the township, it’s hard to judge exactly where the Lions are placed ahead of their final two games of the 2021 season; even more so with their home games now being played at Moulamein for the next two weeks.
What we do know though is in order for the Lions to have any chance of a finals berth, they have to win both of their remaining matches, and that starts with tomorrow’s game against Macorna.
Despite sitting seventh on the ladder, the Tigers will be no pushover though, as evidenced in their 31-point loss to Wandella in their previous game. If not for a poor third quarter, where Macorna let the Bombers run rampant with a seven goal to one term, they would have arguably won that match; and it will be that sort of effort that will be required once again tomorrow afternoon.
Hay on the other hand will enter the game on a three-game winning streak and full of confidence. Jack Cattanach has been a revelation for the Lions since returning to the club and his combination with Sebastian Webb across the half back line gives his team the perfect springboard with which to launch from.
For Macorna, they simply need to get their hands on the ball out of the middle and start supplying coach Jaydon Stiles up forward.
Jessi Lampi, Daniel Green and Harley Haimes are all capable of turning a game, but need to start winning more of the ball around the contest more often to feed the competitions leading full forward.
The Lions have a number of options to tackle Stiles and it very much depends on who is available through border restrictions as to who gets the job.
Kenneth Jubb, James Eddy and Andrew Lowe have all played key defence at times this season and while Jackson Ferguson could also potentially do the job, he would probably be better served in a more offensive role down back.
It wouldn’t surprise if an upset was on the cards, but with their finals hopes on the line, I’d expect Hay to get the job done.
Tip – Hay by 10 points.
