THERE will be no second chances for either Nyah-Nyah West United or Balranald on Sunday afternoon, when the two clubs clash at Cohuna in what is sure to be a contest full of emotion.
The Demons can be considered unlucky to not be playing for a spot in the grand final this weekend, after a Brent Macleod sealed victory for the Eagles late in last Saturday’s qualifying final.
Similarly, the Roos can consider themselves extremely fortunate to still be in the running after giving up a 49-point lead to Cohuna in their elimination final last Sunday, before storming back with eight straight goals in the second half.
Both clubs will need to come to terms with the extra space that the Cohuna Rec. Reserve affords, having both suffered losses at the venue this season.
The larger ground is set to play a part in the result, according to Balranald co-coach Jydon Neagle.
“I feel the bigger ground probably suits both teams to be honest,” Neagle told The Guardian this week.
“We both play a similar game in many respects, defensively there’s a lot more ground to cover but offensively, I think both teams will gain an advantage.
“We’ll take a fair bit of confidence out of a last Sunday.
“To be that far behind and slowly chip away at it, especially against Cohuna who were all over us, was a real confidence booster.
“I just hope we’ve learnt our lesson and not only play a second half of footy, but play four quarters and hopefully set the game up right from the start.”
Having watched the Roos miracle comeback, NNW United co-coach Jason Murphy is well aware of the threat his opposition can present when their tails are up, as they currently are.
But while Balranald are a team that have proven hard to stop when they get a run on, so too are the Demons, who defeated the Roos in the two clubs only encounter back in round 10 by 22 points.
“We class that as one of our best wins for the season, we had a fair few out that day and to go up there and win at Balranald is hard to do at the best of times,” Murphy said.
“We’ll take confidence out of that win and knowing that we can match them and on the big ground at Cohuna, hopefully we can get them on transition.
“They (Balranald) got back into the game last Sunday off the back of their midfield I felt and we’ll need to put some work into their key onballers like (Matthew) Neagle, (Kobe) Lloyd and (Harrison) Soraggi.
“We’ve got some plans and ideas on how to get the ball moving our way out of the middle.
“I felt we had the better of the Eagles in the middle last weekend, which is really pleasing that it’s trending in the right direction for us hopefully.
“They have stars on every line, but we like to think we have them as well and we can go head to head, so to speak.
“(Ryan) Middlebrook across half back was pretty dominant on the weekend and Matt Neagle was the catalyst to get them up and running so they will be two of many that we will need to watch closely.
The Demons are expected to welcome back Max Thompson, Ethan Curran and Alex Erlandson to the side that went down to the Eagles by four points last weekend, but will lose defender Joel Campbell to suspension.
The other big out from last weekend will be Balranald’s Jaxon Neagle, who this week received a 10 week suspension following an incident in which Cohuna’s Riley Hird was injured last Sunday.
Despite their youth, the inclusions of Thompson and Curran will provide NNW United with an injection of speed and clean ball use across half forward and through the midfield, an element of their game which was sorely missed against the Eagles.
Balranald have plenty of class across the ground and will be able to match anything the Demons throw at them around the contest, although their speed and spread from contest will no doubt be a big factor in the Roos planning pre-game, along with the offensive capabilities of NNW United’s reigning best and fairest.
“I think the one thing that we need to work on from the first time we played them (NNW United) is stopping their run,” Neagle said.
“They have some talented kids and ‘Walshy’ (Joel Walsh) exploding off half back as well. When they get their outside run going, it’s hard to stop.
“He (Walsh) is going to get the footy, but it’s about what he does with it.
“We just need to put pressure on him and try to restrict his kicking because he has a lethal boot, so if we can put pressure on him up front and not let him cruise around and play his way, that will go a long way to stopping their rebound and hopefully getting the win for us.”
Having spent time in the midfield last week, Neagle himself looks set to have a big impact on the result, with more on-ball minutes potentially on the cards for the former Jack Betts Medallist.
The question is how much has an emotion charged week sapped from Balranald – and is there any fuel left in the tank following their comeback last Sunday?
Tip – NNW United to win by nine points.
See also: Walsh, Neagle the ones to watch
