There will be more than just bragging rights on the line at Lake Boga tomorrow, with the undefeated Magpies set to host the much-improved Woorinen.
Both teams enter the game in white-hot form, with Lake Boga fresh off a three-goal victory over reigning premiers Balranald, while the Tigers made light work of Koondrook-Barham with a 57-goal smashing last Saturday.
Tomorrow’s game will also be a repeat of last year’s elimination final, with Lake Boga claiming a solid 12-goal win on that occasion.
While that victory will give the home side plenty of confidence, both teams will enter this encounter with a vastly different line-ups this time around, having undergone a significant overhaul of their playing lists.
For one club, tomorrow will be their first taste of defeat in 2023, with Woorinen coach Tayla Bennett confident her side is up to the task of matching with one of the competition leaders.
“We’re definitely excited and there’s a really positive vibe among the playing group at the moment,” Bennett said.
“They’ve (Lake Boga) been on our radar for a little while now and we’ve been working on a few things in preparation.
“We’re really just looking at one week at a time, one result at a time – although we’ve started the season really well, we just want to continue to improve.
“They’re one of the main contenders this season and we’ll have to make sure we’re at our best right from the start.”
While Woorinen will go into tomorrow’s match primed and ready, so too will their opponents, with Lake Boga coach Annie Stewart telling The Guardian that her team has gained plenty of confidence following last Saturday’s win over the Roos.
“Our game against Balranald gave us a good chance to see how we’re travelling, while also giving us the challenge needed to provide insight to where some improvement is needed,” Stewart said.
“Even though we are still without our full side, it will be a good, strong game against them (Woorinen) with some great match ups.
“This week will be no different to any other with our preparation, we’ll continue to go in focused on our goals, capturing those opportunities and converting.”
While the Magpies may not be at full strength according to Stewart, the Tigers can tinker with theirs, with Rach McLaughlin expected to come into the line-up and resume her partnership with Tess Demaria.
“They (McLaughlin and Demaria) proved they are a strong defensive duo together against Balranald and we’ll need that again on Saturday,” Bennett said.
“We tried a lot of combinations last week and had a fresh look to every quarter, which proved that we can be versatile and still hit our targets.
While Lake Boga’s Hepburn sisters have been in scintillating form in goals to start the season, so too has Woorinen’s Bennett.
The outcome is likely to be decided by which team’s goalies are given the better opportunities.
“I think Saturday we come down to which team can settle in their attacking end the quickest and who can play at their best while being tested,” Bennett said.
“An area that will be important for both teams will be through the mid-court and whether either side can pick anything off through there, because both teams attacking ends are very dominant.
“The team that is able apply pressure through the mid-court and create turnovers in that area will most likely come out on top.” Tip – Lake Boga to win by one goal.
Ladder leaders Kerang will host reigning premiers Balranald tomorrow in a match that will give the competition a perfect guide to where exactly both teams sit.
The Blues are undefeated through the first five games of the season, but aside from an understrength Mallee Eagles outfit in Round 2, are yet to face a side of any genuine significance this year.
The Roos on the other hand entered 2023 with an air of expectation that more success was to come, but after losses to both Woorinen and Lake Boga in their past three matches, find themselves sitting fifth.
Making Balranald’s task even harder will be the likely omission of goal keeper Elli-Jane Brougham, who injured her calf during last Saturday’s loss to Lake Boga.
Her absence forced Jess Parry into defence against the Pies, which took away one of the Roos’ biggest attacking weapons.
If Balranald is to turn their season around, Parry will need to return to the Roos attacking half of the court, especially with the Blues Chloe Adams and Katelyn Wright waiting in defence tomorrow.
While Parry is crucial to Balranald’s chances of success, so too is their mid-court combination of Bree Hodgson, Bonnie Jolliffe and Madison Jess, who will face off against the in-form Zoe Livingston, Olivia Jones and Tahni Clark in a battle that will likely decide the outcome. Tip – Kerang to win by two goals.
If ever there was a match that defined the term ‘must-win’, then tomorrow’s match between the Mallee Eagles and NNW United is it.
With the Eagles (seventh) and Demons (sixth) finding themselves outside the top five, a win is a must to ensure they stay in touch with in the race for a finals berth.
The Eagles have been somewhat unlucky with their draw so far in 2023, with a tough start to the season compounded by an unsettled line-up in the opening rounds.
NNW United on the other hand started in reasonable fashion, however will face a big test of their talent and depth going forward, with star goalie Denise Snyder set to miss an extended period with injury.
Snyder’s absence will force a shake-up of the Demons’ line-up, with coach Laura Anderson having to move Bridie Curran back into attack and partner Steph Henson and therefore force a reshuffle on their mid-court.
On paper, the Eagles would appear to be the stronger team, with match winners Kellie Walker, Sonya Lorenzoni and Meg Allen set to take to the court and no doubt cause the visitors a number of headaches. Tip – Mallee Eagles to win by seven goals.
While both the Eagles and Demons will be desperate to keep their finals hopes alive, so too will the Cohuna Kangas, when they travel to Tooleybuc tomorrow to take on the Saints.
The home side are yet to taste victory so far in 2023, but they have been steadily improving, with their 15-goal loss to NNW United last Saturday seen as another step in the right direction for the young Saints.
While recording just the one win from five matches so far, the Kangas have still been competitive in most games they’ve played this season – that was until last Saturday, when they were taken apart by a rampaging Swan Hill by 53-goals.
How Cohuna respond to that loss will determine how their season tracks from this point forward, with winnable games against the Mallee Eagles, NNW United and Tyntynder to come.
But before they can focus on that, they must first overcome Tooleybuc-Manangatang, who won’t be as easy to beat on their own home court as many may think. Tip – Cohuna Kangas to win by 11 goals.
