KOOKABURRA Cup hopes will be on the line tomorrow when Wandella and St Mary’s Tyntynder meet for the first time since last year’s grand final.
The Bombers and Bulldogs sit fourth and third on the ladder, respectively.
A loss for either could be catastrophic for any grand final aspirations with just three rounds of the one-day competition remaining.
The match will also serve as Wandella’s first opportunity to erase the demons of their dual grand-final losses to St Mary’s Tyntynder last season.
Wandella captain Ryan Barnes was also confident of a much better showing on their home turf.
“We haven’t played them since the loss in the grand final and it will be a tough game for us mentally, but I know our boys are ready for the challenge,” Barnes said.
“I’m backing our bowlers in to get the job done. We have a good line-up and hopefully our attack can do our job and contain them.
“We know with (St Mary’s Tyntynder) they like to go hard from ball one, so we need to be patient and take our chances when they come.
“The real test for us will be performing with the bat, which has been where we’ve struggled against them in previous games.”
St Mary’s Tyntynder are yet to beat the Bombers at Riverside Park in the two years since joining into the SHDCA.
Coming off a disappointing loss to Nyah District last weekend, the Bulldogs find themselves needing to make amends in what will be a hostile environment, according to skipper Nathaniel Holmes-Brown.
“(Wandella) have had a very good start to the season and a few of their recruits look to be impacting in a very positive way for them, so we’re not too sure what to expect,” Holmes-Brown said.
“We’ve found it quite difficult playing over there, it’s a very different ground to our home ground.
“There is very little margin for error for the bowlers, as it’s a fast outfield and easy to get punished if you’re not switched on.
“We are wanting to make amends after our performance last weekend and our fielding will be a big focus. We were pretty ordinary in the field and dropped far too many catches, which proved to be a big reason in why we lost.”
The visitors are expected to welcome back bowlers Robin Sebastian, Dom Violi and Austin McKerrow after the Demons compiled a massive first-innings score last week.
Pressure will then fall back onto Wandella’s batting and their ability to post a defendable score.
All-rounder Peter Moore holds the key in this area for the home side, along with Daniel Higgs, Greg Dickson and Luke Murray.
Moore found form in his last outing, coincidentally also against Nyah District a fortnight ago, scoring 59 from 71 balls.
St Mary’s Tyntynder’s batting line-up were last week bowled out for the first time this season, for just 139 runs.
With class such as Jonty Chaproniere, Jake Foster, Jack Shannahan and Charlie King, it’s hard to see the same happening twice in two weeks.
“Bailey Codling is one I’m hoping for a big game from,” Holmes-Brown said.
“He hasn’t quite had the impact he did last year so far, but he’s a quality batsman that scores quickly and is very important to our side.”
