KERANG v MALLEE EAGLES
IN a match-up that would have been considered a lay down misere six months ago, the Mallee Eagles will instead be fighting for their top five credentials when they face a rejuvenated Kerang on Saturday.
The Eagles are coming off a four-goal loss to fellow 2022 finalist Lake Boga last Saturday and, with a number of key players missing against the Blues, are now in danger of starting 0-2.
Kerang, on the other hand, will be full of confidence after their 48-goal flogging of Tooleybuc-Manangatang in the wet.
The Blues were sensational after half time, scoring 43 goals to 10 in a dominant performance that has put the competition on notice.
While happy to get their first win out of the way, Kerang coach Chloe Adams told The Guardian her team’s focus quickly shifted to Saturday against the Eagles – a match that will give a true indication of where they sit in 2023.
“We’re really looking forward to playing them and testing ourselves against one of the best teams in the competition,” Adams said.
“We’re obviously aware that they’re missing a couple of key players, but I think coming up against such a key finals contender from last year will give us a really good idea of where we’re at and what we need to keep working on.
“Regardless of who they have in or out, they’ll definitely be tough to beat and we’ll certainly have to be at our best against them.”
With seven players missing from their A squad, the Eagles will definitely have a vastly different look.
Of those missing, key bookends Kellie Walker and coach Meg Allen will be the hardest to replace, with Julia Amezdroz set to partner Megan Thorneycroft in Walker’s absence.
But while she won’t be there in person to affect the result, Allen was confident of a strong showing from her team, with the Eagles’ impressive depth to be on full display.
“The girls are really looking forward to this weekend,” Allen said.
“It’ll be quite a different line-up from last Saturday’s, but I’m really confident in the girls that will be either stepping up, or still there from last week’s side, to be able to match it with Kerang, who are obviously a much-improved team from last season.
“We said at the start of the season we wanted to be versatile and Saturday will be the perfect opportunity to showcase that.
“Plus it’ll be nice to play a game in good conditions – last week was a good contest against Boga, but it’s hard to play nice, slick netball when it’s pouring rain.”
Also set to come into the starting line-up for the Eagles is Elly Bookham, with her fitness and speed set to light up the visitors’ midcourt.
It’s that element of their game that will be one to watch according to Adams, with the Blues combination of Zoe Livingston, Olivia Jones and Tahni Clark considered one of their big strengths as a side as well.
“I think we’re pretty strong right across the court to be honest and I think that’s one of our big strengths,” Adams said.
“For us, it’s really about everyone stepping up and playing their role, but I feel the game will be won and lost through the midcourt.
“I think if our midcourters produce really big games, then it helps us out at either end to control the match.”
LAKE BOGA v NNW UNITED
LAKE Boga will be out to continue their strong start under new coach Anne-Marie Stewart when they host Nyah-Nyah West United.
The Magpies couldn’t have asked for better start to their season, last year’s semi-finalists recording a hard-fought four-goal win.
NNW United had a similarly pleasing result in the rain against Koondrook-Barham, kickstarting their season with 28-goal victory.
Denise Snyder dominated in the ring for the Demons last week, scoring 43 of her side’s 49 goals, but will face much tougher opposition on Saturday against leading defenders Sophie Peacock and Jemma Meehan.
At the other end of the court, the battle between the Hepburn sisters and NNW United’s new defensive combination of Taylen Blachford and Allesha Flanagan could well go a long way to deciding the outcome of this match.
While the battle in the Magpies’ attacking third of the court will prove crucial to the result, both sides appear to be relatively evenly matched through the midcourt, with the Madison Jones, Matika Mitchell and Bridie Curran set to lock horns against Boga’s combination of Lily Brennan, Holly Hogan and Emma Peacock.
WOORINEN v TYNTYNDER
WOORINEN will return to the court for the first time since their 12-goal Good Friday win against Cohuna, hosting Tyntynder.
The Tigers were impressive with the way they moved the ball and controlled possession against the Kangas, and will be hoping for more of the same.
Tyntynder had the unenviable task of facing reigning premiers Balranald in their opening game, suffering a 21-45 loss.
But new coach Teagan Lawry would have still found plenty of positive signs for the new-look line-up, giving them confidence that they may not be too far off the Tigers.
Midcourters Monica Ellis and Toni Rivett started the year strongly against the Roos and will be players to watch again opposed to Arlie Atkinson and Jaimee Beasy.
For the Tigers, their big strengths lie at either end of the court, with Tessa Demaria partnering with Stevie-Jo Maher in defence and Tayla Bennett combining with Emily Siely in their opening game.
SWAN HILL v TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG
GRAND finalists Swan Hill will take the court for the first time this season, facing Tooleybuc-Manangatang.
The young and developing Saints were found wanting against the much-improved Kerang last Saturday, and while the Blues will trouble a lot of teams this season, the traditionally competitive Swans would appear to pose an even bigger test.
For Swan Hill, there will still be some question marks over exactly who will fill the void left by midcourter Zoe Livingston, who departed for rivals Kerang.
The other big question centres around the goalie combination, with former Saint Zoe Morris a chance to debut against her former club alongside either Ingrid Condely, Casey Frame or Kelly Stanger.
For the Saints, Shania Nunn stood up, scoring a team-high 13 goals against the Blues last Saturday, while the midcourt combinations of Millie Holland, Jayda Plant and Amy Standen should improve as the season progresses.
KOONDROOK-BARHAM v COHUNA KANGAS
KOONDROOK-Barham will host the Cohuna Kangas, with both teams looking for their first win of the season.
The Kangas showed plenty of positive signs against Woorinen on Good Friday, going down by 12 goals in a highly competitive match.
Cohuna’s big strength appears to be their defensive combination of Keely Wilson and Danni Sawyer, with Sawyer among her side’s better players against the Tigers, along with Georgia Eishold and Kobie McIvor.
The Raiders on the other hand will be looking for big games from the experienced Rach Robertson and both Tess and Remy Doyle.
While Koondrook-Barham appear to be much-improved on last year’s team, they are still a predominately young and developing side that should find the Kangas too good.
