THE fur will fly when 2012 premiers Walpeup Underbool take on the resurgent Woomelang Lascelles in the Mallee Football League’s (MFL) first semi-final at Beulah.
In head to head contests so far this season, the Cats have come out victorious twice in three encounters.
In the final home and away game last week, they got home by just seven points.
However, the one thing that Walpeup Underbool does have in abundance is recent finals experience — something that the Cats do not have.
A key match-up will be Mark Charleson and Josh Ratcliffe against Josh Charles in the ruck. Between the two Woomelang Lascelles big men, they should be able to run Charles around and tire him.
Charles is an experienced and talented big man and is more than capable of dropping off a player or two.
The Roos also have the option of throwing Charles forward early to expose the Cats’ lack of tall back-men.
The Roos will be strengthened this week with the return of Wade Champion, Kyle Munro, captain Kane Munro and Chris Vorwerk.
Wade Champion has had a couple of strong performances against the Cats this year.
Expect Joel Donnan to line up on him this week in an effort keep him to under five goals.
David Piasante will need to be watched as he can do a lot of damage in a short time.
The Cats may not tag him initially, they seem to prefer to rely on the whole team to exert pressure on the opposition midfield. The Cats aim to cut off supply rather than trying to beat players one on one.
