AFTER being dumped from last year’s finals race by Swan Hill, the unbeaten Kerang will be out for revenge when the two clubs meet at Riverside Park tomorrow afternoon.
The Blues have proven themselves to be one of the big improvers across the first two rounds, with big wins over Lake Boga and Tooleybuc-Manangatang seeing sit inside the top five.
Swan Hill on the other hand will be licking their wounds after suffering a 31-goal loss to the Mallee Eagles before the Easter break, with Kerang seen as the perfect test for her team by Swan Hill coach Casey Frame.
“We definitely don’t take any team lightly and we didn’t do that last year either, but we played them (Kerang) twice last year and they pushed us both times,” Frame told The Guardian this week.
“Obviously we’re a different side this year, as they are, but I predict they’re going to be finals contenders and potentially finish top three, so we know that tomorrow’s not going to be easy.
“I like their style of play, they have a lot of good youth coming up that can definitely hold their own, they’ve got depth on the bench and a good mix of experience.
“Those two games last year I remember they matched up on us really well, they contested every ball and they have that tenacity about them.
“They make you earn everyball, which can wear you down and hopefully it doesn’t wear us down too much on the weekend.”
The Swans will welcome Mollie Quin back into their line-up after the experienced defender missed the Swans loss to the Eagles with illness, with Quin set to join forces with Tess Meney and Jaya Jenkins-Jaiswal to strengthen the Swans defence.
The Blues on the other hand will be strengthened by the return of Bree Cordina, giving the home side a full strength playing squad to choose from – which will be needed against the Swans according to Kerang co-coach Chloe Adams.
“Any four points at this time of the year is super important, as we’ve learned that over the last couple of years, but we’re expecting it will be a much tougher test against Swan Hill this week,” Adams said.
“We’re very happy to get the wins and very happy with how the girls have been developing and our combinations and the depth that we have, but we know Swan Hill will be a challenge.
“It’s their culture, they just know how to how to win and they have three or four super experienced players in Kelly (Bonney), Karli (McIntyre) and Mollie (Quin).
“Combined with the youth that they have coming through, I think they’re going to be a really good outfit and we will need to be at our best.”
With the likelihood of wet weather expected to affect both teams ability to move the ball down the court, the result could well come down to who handles the conditions best, according to Frame.
“(Rain) obviously changes the style of how you want to play, because clearly we would like to be moving the ball quicker given we’re a shorter team,” Frame said.
“That’s not necessarily possible to do in wet conditions, so we’ll just have to change our game style accordingly.
“At the same time it makes it a little bit more difficult with aerial passes which will play to our advantage a bit with their height, so it will be interesting to see what affect that has on the game if it is wet.”
The Swans big strength will be through the midcourt, with Karli McIntyre, Hayley Neuschafer, Tess Meney and Ava Seymour all capable of impacting the game through the centre third.
Kerang on the other hand will be hoping to counter the Swans ball movement through the middle through their own quartet of Lily Wise, Mikala McNeil, Madison Hall and Cordina, with Adams expecting that area of the court to be where the contest is decided.
“The fact they have Karli (McIntyre) through the midcourt, she is their barometer and she’s just so strong in the way she goes about it,” Adams said.
“I think either nullifying her or at least limiting her influence is going to be really important and I think if our mid’s can do that, hopefully we can transition the ball and apply some pressure through the midcourt.”
Tip – Kerang to win by four goals.
