AFTER playing out the season’s only draw in round 6, the Mallee Eagles and Kerang will this weekend renew hostilities and look to claim bragging rights ahead of a potential meeting in this year’s finals series.
Both teams have proven unstoppable since that afternoon, with the Blues remaining unbeaten from their past nine games and the Eagles having an 8-1 win-loss record, with their only blemish against the Cohuna Kangas.
That form line, combined with the evenly matched line-ups, augers well for a competitive encounter this Saturday, with both teams needing one more win to lock away either a top-three finish (Mallee Eagles) or top spot (Kerang).
“It’s perfect timing really, if we don’t beat Kerang then we’ll need to beat (Lake) Boga to lock away top three, which we’ll back ourselves in to do, but more importantly it will be a good opportunity to see where we fit among the very top teams,” Mallee Eagles co-coach Harry Allen said.
“We know we’re good enough, but it’s been a while since we played Kerang and even though we drew with them, a lot of things have changed from both teams.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge. It’ll be our last home game too and it would be nice to tick off the season without a loss at home.”
The Eagles’ record at home is an imposing one, with the blue and gold army turning their Lalbert base into a fortress this season.
But while they have beaten quality teams such as NNW United, Woorinen and Cohuna, the Blues will undoubtedly be their toughest test.
After last Saturday’s hard-fought win over Koondrook-Barham, Kerang coach Troy Coates knew his team would need to get back to playing their best football to get the four points to lock away top spot and a much-needed week off to start their finals campaign.
“We’ll play seven games straight leading into the finals and even though we only have to win one of the last two, we’d rather just get it done this week and lock up that top spot,” Coates said.
“We’re an aging list with plenty of niggles like all teams are fighting at this time of year, so that week off will be crucial.
“(Mallee Eagles) are hard to beat on their home deck and they drew with us last time, it’s a massive game for us and we’ll need to be better than last week to get the job done.
“I feel we play our best footy against the best sides, like we did against Balranald and Woorinen, and then we come up against the bottom sides and start playing poor footy again.
“There were a few match-ups that we didn’t quite get right last time, so there will be some focus put into those as well.”
One of those match-ups was Jayden Post, who after spending the first part of the season forward, was swung into defence to great effect, with the intercept defender becoming a dangerous weapon for the Eagles back six since that afternoon.
Post will be a key player again, along with midfielders Darcy McGregor and Allen, who were also among the Eagles’ best.
“(Mallee Eagles) really clogged the game up last time,” Coates said.
“Conditions were poor, which probably didn’t help us, but we’ll have to try and get our running game going as they did a really good job of getting numbers behind the ball and chipped it around a lot.
“They have a good side and I’m glad we play them again because I want to have a good look at them again before finals because we see them as a big threat.
“(Jayden) Post was dangerous last time we played them, but by the same token we weren’t as potent up forward, so they might want to play him in that intercept role, but they do it at their own risk.
“You can counteract that by playing through his opponent and even though he’s a quality player, if he’s playing on ‘Skinny’ (Adam) Baird or Brett Kennedy or those sorts of guys, he’ll still need to be somewhat accountable.”
Coates himself won’t take his place in the Blues line-up after being concussed last week against the Raiders, with captain Josh Nitschke also in doubt with hamstring awareness.
While the pair will be big losses for the Blues, their inclusions with far outweigh their omissions, with Sam Heavyside, Brett Kennedy, Josh Hann and Rylee Gitsham all expected to return, and veteran onballer Ryan Gillingham also nearing a return.
The Eagles will likewise have a different team to the one that dominated Swan Hill last Saturday, with co-coach Brent Macleod expected to miss a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain, while Shaun Harrison will also miss, with Brady Fordham and Billy O’Meara both back to full fitness.
Although Kerang will go in as slight favourites, the Blues won’t hold any fears for Allen or his teammates.
“We feel we have a team that stacks up against them,” Allen said.
“Their midfield bats deep but we believe we do, too. Their back line’s very strong, as is ours.
“But for us it’s about who can cash in on the momentum of the game when they have it.
“They have a lot of weapons across the ground, but we’re pretty confident that we’ll be competitive, it’s about whether we have enough poise and control when the game is there to be won.”
Tip – Kerang to win by four points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Jai Middleton/Kieren Bourke v Nick Lang
LANG is a hugely important player in Kerang’s structure, with the Blues big man one of the league’s dominant ruckmen.
It’s not just his ability to bring his teammates into the contest with his deft tap work that makes him so important, but his ability to impact around the ground that is so important to his team’s chances of victory.
With the Eagles’ big strength their ability to win the ball around the stoppages, Lang’s impact on the game and his ability to nullify the home side’s effectiveness around the contest will most likely decide the winner.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Is Saturday’s match-up a grand final preview?
THERE’S no doubt that the Eagles and Blues have been two of the form teams of the competition over the past 10 rounds since they last played, and with both set to finish in the top three, they will be at a significant advantage to most of their rivals.
At their best, NNW United can certainly challenge both teams and are well and truly in the premiership race with several of their stars returning in recent weeks, while Cohuna are a team who have got their act together at the business end of the season.
Although both the Demons and Kangas, or Woorinen and Balranald for that matter, could easily challenge either of Saturday’s combatants in the finals, if this match-up does give us an insight into this year’s grand final, then it would be the perfect end to an incredible season.
