KERANG will be out to qualify for their third straight Central Murray grand final when they enter the finals race against the Mallee Eagles at Woorinen Saturday afternoon.
If the reigning premiers are to win their way through to the decider, it will be at odds with their past two seasons, having lost to both Cohuna and Balranald in this very match both years.
The Eagles will be hoping to make that three from three and earn themselves a much needed week off next Saturday, especially with doubts still surrounding the fitness of key position players Jayden Post and Darcy Hourigan, who both missed last Saturday’s four point qualifying final win over NNW United.
With the double chance still at play, they will be taking no chances according to Mallee Eagles co-coach Harry Allen, who told The Guardian this week that a decision will be left until as late as possible.
“We’re just waiting on a fitness test for both Jayden (Post) and Darcy (Hourigan), they’ll both train overnight (Thursday) and see how they go and we’ll take it from there,” Allen said.
“I’ve spoken with Darcy and he’s feeling pretty confident, but it’s one of those ones where he has to get through training and do what he needs to do to make sure he’s right.
“They both sound pretty confident that they’ll be right to go, so hopefully they’ll both be back and if we get them both back we’ll be pretty much full strength.
“But at the same time, with the double chance, we can be a little bit smart with that decision because win or lose, there’s still another game for us to play.”
Kerang will also have a different look about them to the last time they played, with Josh Nitschke certain to return from a hamstring injury, along with coach Troy Coates (concussion).
The Blues have taken all before them this season, with just one loss from the 16 matches, resulting in them finishing two-and-a-half games clear on top of the ladder.
Their only other blemish came in the form of a draw back in round 6 against the Eagles, before turning the tables on the blue and gold army three weeks ago with a 40-point win.
Both games were played under less than ideal conditions, with wet weather and strong winds making ball movement difficult.
It’s this fact that will be playing on the mind of Coates, who is yet to see the Eagles dangerous forward structure in full flight opposed to his well organised defence, and depending on the availability of Hourigan, may not on Saturday either.
“It was a bit wet that day, which didn’t suit their height, so it will be a lot different conditions tomorrow and we’ll have to be mindful of that,” Coates said.
“We felt like we nullified (Jayden) Post well last game, but they had a few key players missing as did we so you probably can’t read too much into that result, especially when you consider the conditions will be different too.
“They (Mallee Eagles) have some really strong midfielders and their coaches (Allen and Brent Macleod) will be a big part of that, but we feel like we match up pretty well against them.
“They’re very tall, especially forward, so we’ll have to get our match-up’s right, but alternatively, when you go tall, you often lack a little bit on the ground and also with your running ability.
“We’ll try and get our running game going and I’m sure they’ll be trying to close that down on the smaller ground at Woorinen.”
One player who is sure to have an impact is Josh Nitschke, who is yet to play against the Eagles having missed both games this season.
While much of the Eagles attacking play is generated from half back with the likes of Zac O’Meara, Clinton Cummins and Harry McGregor, it’s in the midfield where the Mallee team will need to be at their best against the likes of Marty Kelly, Josh Hann, Sam Heavyside and Nitschke.
“We spoke after the game on Saturday and we felt like we had a few passengers on the day,” Allen said.
“Our backline was great and some of our forwards were pretty good, but as a midfield group in particular, we were pretty disappointed how we played, with the exception of Darcy McGregor.
“We feel there’s a lot of upside to us there and we don’t like too many poor games back to back as a unit, so if we can get back to playing the footy we should be playing, it should hold us in good stead to get the result this weekend.
“Internally, it was good to get the result while still having a few of us a bit below par, now we just need to bounce back as a collective.
“The way they (Kerang) set up when the opposition have the ball is tough to counter, they are well structured and well set up behind the footy and if you start blazing away with your kicks they can really pick you apart.
“We had a good look at them a couple of weeks ago in terms of how dangerous they are how we might be able to nullify them, Sean Hunter was very good that day and (Brett) Kennedy kicked five, so we have to be wary of them.”
Tip – Kerang to win by 12 points.
See also: The players who will make a difference
