BALRANALD v LAKE BOGA
BALRANALD will be hoping to keep the pressure on the top five with victory over the winless Lake Boga at Greenham Park this weekend.
The Roos were competitive but ultimately unsuccessful against the unbeaten Kerang last Saturday, with that form expected to be good enough to topple the Magpies.
Both teams will go into the match with unchanged line-ups, with Balranald still in the process of nailing down what their best team looks like.
Jess Parry has seemingly given the Roos options both in attack and defence, while Bonnie Jolliffe and Katelyn Hazlett have also shown they can successfully partner Gemma Saul in defence.
The Magpies are also in the process of working out what shape their best squad takes through the midcourt, with Jessica Weaver and Milla Holt seemingly settled in their attacking third and Felicity Robertson and Maddy Gleeson locked into goal keeper and goal defence.
Tip – Balranald to win by seven goals.
TYNTYNDER v KERANG
KERANG will be red-hot favourites to continue their unbeaten start to the season when they face off against Tyntynder at the Alan Garden Reserve on Saturday.
The Blues are destined to break their finals drought this season, having won their first seven matches and finding themselves two games clear inside the top two, along with the Mallee Eagles.
Tyntynder’s start to the season has been less glamourous, with the Bulldogs walking away from their first six matches with one win and a draw and now finding themselves at risk of falling from finals calculations.
While Kerang are expected to go into Saturday’s match with an unchanged line-up, Tyntynder will welcome back Tamara Weiss into their midcourt, with the experienced centre to add both class and depth.
The challenge for the Bulldogs won’t lie in getting their hands on the ball in the midcourt however, but rather finding a way to counter the Blues’ dominant attacking combination of Katelyn Wright and Denise Roberts. Tip – Kerang to win by 10 goals.
COHUNA v TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG
SATURDAY’S must-win match against Tooleybuc-Manangatang looms as a danger game for the Cohuna Kangas, who will need to win in order to retain their place in the top five.
Although it’s a game that the Kangas should be winning, especially if they want to be considered finals contenders, the Saints are proving to be no easy opponent, with competitive losses against Woorinen, Koondrook-Barham and Swan Hill in recent weeks.
The problem for Tooleybuc-Manangatang has been their consistency within games, with their best netball more than capable of matching it with the best teams, but being unable to sustain it it for long periods with their predominately young squad.
Cohuna will once again be without injured shooter Carla Walker, while the Saints will be missing Amy Standen and Emily Siely, with some doubt also surrounding the availability of Olivia Fowler after suffering tightness in her calves last Saturday, with the Tooleybuc-Manangatang defender still expected to play.
Tip – Cohuna to win by three goals.
NNW UNITED v MALLEE EAGLES
SATURDAY’S match against the Mallee Eagles appears to be a monumental task for Nyah-Nyah West United, with the two clubs’ 2025 campaigns heading in opposite directions after the first seven rounds of the season.
The Eagles sit atop of the A Grade ladder as both the highest scoring (54 goals per game) and the lowest conceding (34 goals per game) team in the Central Murray and are clear favourites, along with Kerang, for this year’s premiership.
NNW United are at the other end of the scale however, with the Demons sitting on the bottom without a win and with the lowest number of goals scored and the second most goals conceded this season.
While it may appear to be a David versus Goliath battle on paper, it also means the Demons have nothing to lose – but it’s also hard to see them getting within single figures of the rampaging Eagles.
Tip – Mallee Eagles to win by 15 goals.
