AFTER playing out one of the season’s most exciting matches in round 1, Kerang and Balranald will meet again with the finals future of both clubs still very much in play on Saturday afternoon.
NNW United’s loss to Woorinen last Saturday has opened the door for the reigning premiers to potentially finish top of the ladder, while for Balranald, a late-season form slump has put them at risk of tumbling from the five.
Kerang coach Troy Coates was aware of the importance that four points could bring for his team.
“We’re eyeing off top spot and obviously Nyah losing last week helps that, but every game now is important, especially with the competition being as tight as it is in the top five,” Coates told The Guardian this week.
“We want to secure top three first and give ourselves the second chance, but we have an eye on top spot as well, we just have to keep trying to win games and this week is no different.
“We feel like we have a really good side in this week and it is probably a stronger side than when we played (Balranald) in round 1.
“We just feel like we’re playing good footy, especially since the Nyah game, we’ve just started to click, and a lot of the kids are gaining confidence and playing a good brand of footy as a result.”
Coates and Lachlan Ross were two players who didn’t pull on the navy blue that afternoon, along with Brett Kennedy, who will come into the Kerang line-up.
Also expected to return is onballer Josh Hann, with key position tall Rylee Gitsham the only confirmed out from the team that defeated Tyntynder by 16 points with a broken wrist.
The loss of Gitsham will further hurt Kerang’s already stretched key position stocks, especially with Jackson Ferguson expected to come into Balranald’s line-up as well.
The inclusion of Ferguson will give the Roos a massive boost of confidence following their 94-point thrashing of Lake Boga last Saturday.
“We’ll take a bit of confidence out of last Saturday, and getting the game played the way we want it to is a good confidence-builder coming into Saturday’s match,” Balranald co-coach Tom Lister said.
“We don’t feel like we’ve been playing too bad, we’ve just been a little bit gun shy, but we’re aiming to get our running game going and when we do, we’ll be back to our best.
“You need everyone up and running when you’re playing Kerang in Kerang, but we think we have a game style and a system that can stack up against anyone, and we look forward to hopefully getting the game on our terms and it working for us.
“(Kerang’s) overall efficiency by foot is the key area we need to monitor.
“We’re going to need to put some pressure on their ball carriers, because if you let them have time and space they don’t miss.
“We’ll be emphasising defence as we always do, but we’ll need to be all over it for the whole game.”
With two of the league’s best midfields set to go head to head, the middle is where the contest is likely to be won and lost.
Kobe Lloyd, Matthew Neagle and Harrison Soraggi have been all been in good form throughout the season, but it’s the Roos’ on-ball depth that is likely to be tested against Kerang’s engine room, that has up to seven or eight high quality midfielders that rotate through at any one time.
Although the midfield is sure to be a key battleground, there is another area that will take a considerable amount of focus for the home side, according to Coates.
“Last time their forwards got a hold of us, Jydon (Neagle) kicked five and Colin Andrews and Drew Lloyd got dangerous and we just didn’t have the right match ups,” Coates said.
“Jydon is out, which is a big relief because he’s a match-winner, but we let ourselves down in that area last time, so that will be a big focus.
“I felt like their mids got on top of us too, like Harrison Soraggi and Matt Neagle.
“Our midfield is a pretty proud group, with guys like Josh (Nitschke), Marty (Kelly) and Sam (Heavyside), so if we can get our match-ups right this time and our mids can put in a better performance, we feel like that will go a long way towards helping us win.
“Our onballers work well together and complement each other well, you’ve got a hard runner like Josh (Nitschke), an in and under bull like Marty (Kelly), Sam (Heavyside) who has great poise and nous around the contest and then Josh Hann, who plays as a defensive mid and stops the oppositions best onballer.”
While Balranald had the Blues’ measure in round 1, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, and with that day being Kerang’s only loss so far this season, it’s almost impossible to tip against the reigning premiers.
Tip – Kerang to win by 10 points.
KEY MATCH UP
Drew Lloyd v Lachlan Ross
LLOYD was one of the most influential men on the ground in round 1, with the Blues having no answer for the talented forward’s contested marking and ability to push up the ground and impact around the contest.
Lloyd kicked five goals that afternoon and was the difference for his side.
The one difference between then and now, however, could be Lachlan Ross, who has both the height to compete with Lloyd, and the speed and athleticism to run with him up the ground.
The other advantage of Ross is his ability to read the play in defence and his ability to intercept mark, which could easily hurt Balranald going back the other way if Lloyd doesn’t also stay accountable.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Where can Balranald best utilise Jackson Ferguson to expose the Blues?
WITH Rylee Gitsham set to miss with a broken wrist, surely Balranald have to play Ferguson forward.
Couple this with the fact that the Blues don’t really have a dominant key forward and there isn’t a great need for Ferguson to play back.
Josh Hunter looms as the most likely first choice for Ferguson, with Archer Dibsdale also capable of doing a job behind the ball if required as he did on Jason Eagle last Saturday.
The biggest challenge for Balranald will be getting their hands on the ball often enough around the contest to give Ferguson enough opportunities to hit the scoreboard.
