AFTER defeating Macorna by the barest possible margin in round 4, Hay will attempt to lock away a finals berth with another win when they visit Tigerland on Saturday.
For the home side, the match will be equally important after their shock 16-point loss to Murrabit last Saturday.
Macorna are now at risk of dropping out of the top four, having won just one of their past four matches.
With so much at stake, and with little separating the two sides last time, Hay senior coach Mick Cattanach told The Guardian his team would be taking nothing for granted.
“We thought (Macorna) were really good that day and they really stuck it to us,” Cattanach said.
“We’ve always had a lot of respect for Macorna, but even more so after their effort earlier in the season.
“We’re assuming it’s going to be a massive game and another arm wrestle for us this weekend.
“They were strong in the midfield and Lachie Ritchie was dominant up forward last time, so we’re going to have to make sure we get our hands on the ball first in the middle and hope that helps nullify some of their dangerous forwards.”
Lions defender Tom Spence will miss, along with James Eddy, from a side already without round 4 five-goal man Simon Bunyan.
Toby Whinfield, Liam Roberts and Michael Roberts will return for Macorna after missing last week.
Tigers coach Scott Wishart hoped to expose the Lions with his team’s outside run.
“We had a bout of COVID run through the team prior to our round 4 match against them, but that’s no excuse either,” Wishart said.
“I thought we played really well last time and I felt we matched up really well against them, but it’s no guarantee that it’ll be the same.
“We probably want to get the ball on the outside a little bit more than we did, our strengths are around our runners and our ability to carry the football, so we want to use that to our advantage.
“It’ll be a challenge, as they’re very good at winning the contested footy, but we’ll just have to make sure we focus on our strengths and use them to our advantage.”
Lachlan Ritchie kicked eight goals when the two teams last met, with Hay having no answer for the key forward that day.
He will again be a focus for the Lions, along with the midfield of Malcolm Neiwand, Josh Cameron and Shaun Haffenden, according to Cattanach.
“When someone kicks eight goals on you, you’re going to be pretty wary of them next time around,” Cattanach said.
“(Ritchie) was very good that day, he marked everything and their onballers gave him good service, so we need to make sure we cut the supply to him and make it as hard as possible for him to get on the end of it.
“Hopefully our midfield can deliver a fair bit of pressure around the ground and make it tough for them to deliver it into their forward line with the same effectiveness.”
Elsewhere, Murrabit will be looking to keep the heat on the Tigers with their third straight win when they travel to Ultima.
While the Blues come into the match as a team in form, it will also be a massive step up in grade against a team who is yet to taste defeat this year, especially with Murrabit set to be without playmaker Tobie Cameron (knee).
Add to the mix the Roos celebrating the 200th senior game of popular clubman Jayden Kiel and it would appear to be a task too great for the Blues.
Wandella may be in a similar position taking on Moulamein at the hangar.
While it would appear a massive form reversal would be needed from the Bombers to cause an upset against the second-placed Swans, the one positive for the home side is the likely inclusion of key players Matt Wilkinson, Kade Spencer and Darren Rushton, along with the loss of Josh Flight through suspension for Moulamein.
