by Shane Fleming
WANDELLA v NULLAWIL
Nullawil will potentially face their toughest test so far this season when they travel to Wandella to take on the Bombers tomorrow afternoon.
Nully are clearly the competition bench mark and are having perhaps the most dominant season ever seen in the Golden Rivers Football Netball League.
Highlighting their domination is the fact that they’ve lost just three quarters of football for the entire season, along with scoring almost 150 points a game on average as well.
The Maroon’s easily took care of Wandella by 93-points when both teams met back in Round 4 earlier this year, however the Bombers will be a different proposition this time around, with Will Callow, Mitch Treacy and Matt Wilkinson all missing from their last encounter, among a number of others.
One player who won’t be out there for Wandella though will be Logan Keighran, who suffered a fractured cheekbone in his sides win over Quambatook last weekend.
Nullawil on the other hand will welcome back Jordan Humphreys from Pioneer duties to help strengthen their half back line.
The midfield battle looms likely to be a key decider to both team’s chances.
Much of Nully’s dominance stems from their ability to win the ball around the stoppages and get the ball into the hands of quality players like Grant Ford, Matt Quigley, Kyle Doran and Rylee Smith.
The Bombers simply have to get their hands dirty tomorrow and win the contested ball count if they are to have any chance of causing an upset.
Wandella coach Sam Taylor will also be looking for big games from Matt Wilkinson and Joel Gray in the back line.
It can’t be just left to them though if the Bombers are wanting to restrict the Maroon’s to a beatable score, but will instead need to be a team effort in defence.
With everything that Nully have shown over the first eight games of the season though, it’s hard to see them getting beaten, even against their great modern rivals.
Tip – Nullawil by 30 points.
MACORNA v ULTIMA
This weekend may well be Ultima’s best chance of breaking through for their first win of the season when they travel to Tigerland to take on Macorna.
Ultima have been more than competitive in their past few games; and if not for inaccurate kicking in front of goal probably could have beaten Moulamein last Saturday.
Macorna will pose a different challenge however.
At their best, the Tigers can be devastating, as shown in last weekend’s first quarter against the ladder leading Nullawil.
But their consistency, not only from week to week, but within individual games continues to hold them back; and if they can rectify this aspect of their game they’ll be a much more feared opponent.
The Roo’s are heavily reliant on Mitch Seton-Stewart and Tom Bull in their midfield, both of whom have been in sensational form.
The key for Ultima will be with their second-tier onballers giving them a chop out when they are resting. Sam Hinton, Will Watson and Billy Delmenico have all showed at times how talented they are, but now need to perform week on week.
The other issue for Ultima is finding avenues to goal, with the Roo’s averaging just over seven and a half goals a game in 2021; a number that clearly needs to rise if they are to be breaking their winless streak.
Ryan Devereux (18 goals) and Kyle Symons (14) are seemingly their only targets up forward, with nobody else having kicked more than four goals for the season.
Macorna on the other hand are a one-man band up forward, with coach Jaydon Stiles having kicked 44 goals so far this season to be the competitions leading goal kicker.
If Ultima are able to find a way to shut Stiles out of the game, that will put pressure on the Tigers to kick a winning score.
That of course will be much easier said than done.
The Roo’s will also have to keep a close eye on Jacob McIntosh and Charles Hinks, both of whom have been in stellar form since the season resumption.
With Macorna having not tasted success since Round 4 and Ultima yet to open their account this season; one can expect a hard-fought contest that’ll go right down to the wire.
Tip – Ultima by 5 points
MOULAMEIN v HAY
The Lions will be hoping to keep their finals hopes alive when they hit the road and travel to Moulamein on Saturday afternoon.
Hay finds themselves a win and percentage outside the top four following their three-point victory over Murrabit last weekend, however the Lions need to start beating teams above them if they want to have any hope of playing finals; and that has to start tomorrow against the Swans.
Hay is likely to welcome back Matt Giri and Jed Perry to their line-up, along with Trent Lang and Mitch Bourke who will both take their place on the wing.
Giri will add another avenue to goal, while Perry’s return to the side is timely, with his battle against Swan’s coach Heath Moloney in the ruck set to be one of the deciding match-up’s of the afternoon.
Jack Cattanach has been hugely important for the visitors off the half back flank since he returned to the club following the three-week shutdown; and will be someone Moulamein will have to try and nullify tomorrow.
On the flip slide, the Lions will have to find a way to shut down the Swan’s potent forward line, led by Andrew Silva and Michael Morson, who have both combined to kick 55 goals between them this season.
It’s not just Silva and Morson that pose a danger up front however, with Daniel Aarsman and Daniel O’Farrell also a constant threat inside attacking fifty.
Expect Jackson Ferguson to play down back this week and get the job of trying to limit the dangerous Silva.
Brady Fordham will be another who will take a lot of Lachie Cohen’s focus in the midfield, with his speed and spread from the contest likely to be an important asset to his team tomorrow afternoon.
Simon Bunyan’s return for his first game of the season last Saturday gave the Lions a major boost; and if he’s fit enough to run through the midfield should help counter the Swan’s on-ball depth.
With James Shippen and Nick Miller in form and Ash Dickison and Nathan Buckley running through the midfield however, the Swans should have just enough firepower at their disposal to outlast the Lions over the full four quarters.
Tip – Moulamein by 18 points.
MURRABIT v QUAMBATOOK
Quambatook will be looking to return to the winners list following their heartbreaking loss last weekend when they travel to Murrabit tomorrow to take on the Blues.
The Saints will welcome back Matt George and Nick Mason to their line-up as they slowly start getting back towards being full strength.
A win for the fourth placed Quamby is a must tomorrow, with Hay now nipping at their heels in the race for the last finals berth.
Both teams met back in round four earlier this season, with Quamby accounting for the Blues by 38-points on that occasion.
The win was setup with four goals from William Collicoat, as well as dominant performances from James Blackwell and Michael Bradbury.
On that day, none of Jack Baker, Jordan Lampi or Jason Butty took the field for Quambatook; with all three being available for tomorrow’s match-up.
All three are hugely important to the Saints structure, particularly Baker, with his run and polish off half back a constant threat for any opposition.
Murrabit will be hoping Marc O’Neill, Bryden Morison and Nathan O’Toole can give their side the advantage out of the middle.
Tobie Cameron, Ricky Wild and Gregor Knight will be formidable opposition however, and will likely take some stopping of their own.
Cameron in particular has been in remarkable form this season and would have to be one of the leading contenders for the E.G. Hunt Medal at this stage of the season.
The big question for Leigh Millard and the Murrabit brains trust is where they play swingman Nathan Henry?
Do they start him down back and try to limit the influence of Quamby’s key forwards; or do they play him forward and try to stretch the Saints defence?
Quambatook simply have too much to play for tomorrow to let this one slip, even with Murrabit a two or three goal better team at home.
Tip – Quambatook by 24 points.
