FOR the first time in over 50 weeks, Hay enter a round of Golden Rivers football off the back of a loss.
The Lions were beaten by second-placed Ultima last weekend, when the rampaging Roos overran the reigning premiers.
While Hay were without a handful of key players, including Declan and Jacob Watson and Joel Crocker, Ultima were simply too good in their four-goal win.
Coach Mick Cattanach said while his side were disappointed by their showing last week, they were already working on improving a number of areas.
“We were happy with our effort, but a lot of our execution just wasn’t what we’d hoped it would be – offensively and defensively,” he said.
“I think the loss might have sharpened our focus on a couple of issues that we thought we might have been lagging on.
“We need to be that little bit more defensively oriented.
“I think when you’re winning games convincingly, you play the game in a certain way.
“You might be a bit more likely to have the footy go your way, and you come to expect that – I think that’s what hurt us a little bit on the weekend.”
The Lions face another tough ask this week, hitting the road again to face the third-placed Bombers, who will want to claim a big scalp.
Hay will be strengthened by the return of Declan and Jacob Watson as well as pair of youngsters in Jensen Hargreaves and Jack Headon, while Cooper Scott will miss with concussion.
But Cattanah knew that even with a full-strength side, his team would need to be at their best.
“Wandella have got some really strong footballers, and on their home track they seem even stronger again,” he said.
“I think coming off the back of the loss to Ultima, we want to really have a red-hot test this weekend and we’re expecting this weekend to bring that.
“We rate Justin Robinson very highly – he has a knack of pulling down some great contested marks and being damaging on the scoreboard.
“If you let him stamp his influence, he’s the type of player who can kick three goals for the quarter and take the game away from you.
“They’ve also got a lot of good users of the football – someone like Adam Ward can do a lot of damage with ball in hand.”
Wandella controlled the game superbly against Murrabit last round, keeping the margin above 20 points before blowing it out to 41 points in the final quarter.
The Bombers will welcome back midfielder Nathan Boysen after he missed last round.
In the round’s other games, Ultima will hope to continue their hot form to a six-game win streak when they play Macorna.
The Roos will need everything to go wrong at Hay to claim the ladder’s top spot but have guaranteed themselves a top-two finish for the second year in a row.
Ultima will likely be forced into a number of changes for the match, after Jake Foster picked up a hamstring injury and Darcy Farrell injured his shoulder.
But the Roos should be able to cover the losses, with midfielders Tom Bull and Mitch Seton-Stewart stepping up spectacularly in the pair’s absence in last game’s second half.
Forward Ryan Devereux also continues his charge for league goalkicking honours, his bag of five goals last weekend bringing him within two goals of leader Declan Watson.
The battle between Murrabit and Moulamein may have the final say on which side finishes the season in sixth place.
The pair will take on Hay and Ultima respectively in the final round and will both be looking to keep themselves out of the ladder’s bottom position.
The Swans have the wind in their sails, after causing an upset against fourth-placed Macorna last weekend away from home.
Moulamein showed their ability, improving as the game went on to claim a narrow seven-point win over the Tigers.
