KERANG v WOORINEN
THE match of the round will be down at Riverside Park, where the unbeaten Kerang will face the two-time reigning premiers Woorinen in a potential pre-finals match-up between the two sides.
The all-conquering Blues are without doubt the team to beat this season, but if anybody is best placed to take them down ahead of the finals it may well be an almost full-strength Woorinen outfit that will be well rested following two weeks off.
While the Tigers will still be missing Clayton McCartney, they will however regain the services of Ben Booth and Nyawi Moore, while Tom Eltringham is still a possibility to retain his spot in the side despite his constant hamstring issues.
Kerang on the other hand have some injury concerns, particularly to their midfield, with Ryan Gillingham, Bronson Booth and the lightning-fast Rylee Smith all suffering hamstring strains in Kerang’s 119-point win over NNW United last Saturday. Jack Daglish is another who won’t take his place in the Blues line-up tomorrow, although the home side will get back both Brandon Hayes and Troy Davis.
Davis’s inclusion is a timely one, especially with Scott Pay ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury and his side about to face off against one of the league’s leading ruckmen in Arnold Kirby. The midfield battle will be an intriguing one, with the outcome of the game likely to be decided on Woorinen’s ability to break even against the prominent Blues ball winners. The battle between Martin Kelly, Nick Stagg, Sam Heavyside, Brad Pay and Josh Nitschke up against Jye Barry, Robbie Miller, Patrick Veszpremi, Josh Domaille and Taylor Cameron will be worth the price of admission alone and is set to be one of the highlights of the day.
Whether the Tigers’ hierarchy runs Veszpremi through the midfield or plays him in the set-up role off half back that he has performed in previous weeks remains to be seen – however if Woorinen are to compete with their more fancied rivals out of the centre, they may need to inject a touch more class and speed into that area of the ground and try to win the territory battle that way.
It promises to be yet another classic encounter between two clubs who have had some almighty tough encounters in recent seasons – with tomorrow’s game to be no exception.
Tip – Kerang to win by 18 points.
TYNTYNDER v KOONDROOK-BARHAM
KOONDROOK-Barham will be hoping lightning strikes twice this season when they travel to the Alan Garden Reserve to take on Tyntynder this weekend.
The Raiders’ sole victory this season came back in round 3 against the Dogs by 11 points, with Koondrook-Barham’s ability to close down Tyntynder’s outside run the key to success on that occasion. While it may have been the Raiders’ best performance to date, the Doggies only had themselves to blame for the loss after having nine more scoring shots than their opponents, yet kicking 8.17 for the game.
Koondrook-Barham came home like a freight train in last Saturday’s draw against Lake Boga and were arguably the better side, with the Raiders playing a much more team-orientated brand of football since Darren Troy took over as senior coach mid-season. While their effort and contested ball work around the stoppages was first class last week, they will need to up another level against a white-hot Tyntynder outfit.
The Dogs are on a four-game winning streak and have been a different side since Elia Ware moved permanently into the ruck. Ware plays a dynamic brand of football with his athleticism and marking ability seeing him as a permanent threat for the full four quarters. He, along with Marcus Wattie and Jason Eagle, are the players Koondrook-Barham will need to stop if an upset is to be on the cards.
While the Dogs can be accused of occasionally being too Eagle focused, it’s hard for their midfielders to ignore a dominant marking key forward such as him – especially having kicked 27 goals in the past four games, including 12 against Tooleybuc-Manangatang last Saturday.
The home side will most likely be missing Patrick Crowe, who suffered a corked thigh in last week’s win over the Saints. While Crowe’s absence will hurt Tyntynder’s key defensive stocks, they should be buoyed by the likely returns of Brock Storer and Solomon McKay, with the latter returning from Bendigo Pioneers duties to bolster the Dogs’ midfield.
It’s through the middle where this game is likely to be won and lost, with the Iudica brothers both finding form in recent weeks, along with Jack Shannon and Colin McVeigh. If the Raiders are to have any chance of beating the Dogs, they must get their hands on the ball first and get it done on the inside as they did last week.
That will be no easy task however – and with a finals berth still at stake, expect the home side to have enough weapons to get the job done.
Tip – Tyntynder to win by 30 points.
COHUNA KANGAS v TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG
A SHORTHANDED Tooleybuc-Manangatang will attempt one of the toughest challenges in the Central Murray tomorrow afternoon – beating Cohuna on the Kangas’ own home patch.
Making their task even harder is the Saints’ growing injury list, with Dean Helmers losing another batch of senior players during his side’s 90-point loss to Tyntynder last Saturday. Shylo Smith (hamstring), Shane Foley (concussion), Gareth Grant (knee), Tristan Haigh (calf) and Ryan Kliemt will miss tomorrow’s game – and join the likes of Jonathon Marsden, Darcy Spinks, Ben Arentz and Sam Grant on the sidelines.
While the Saints have lost their last six matches, their performances had been steadily improving before last weekend’s loss. A large factor in their improved performances has been Alex Powell, who has been dominating games in the ruck – with his athleticism seeing him turn into another midfielder when the ball hits the ground, all the while still being able to dominate in the air.
Tomorrow will present a much sterner test for both Powell and the Saints though, especially with the return of Kangas big man Ben Archard from injury. Archard won’t be the only inclusion however, with classy midfielder Jarrod Findlay and running half back Dan Paterson also expected to return.
They won’t be the only additions to the home side though, with Jake Hammond expected to return to his home club for his first game in a number of seasons. Hammond will be another big inclusion for the Kangas and will strengthen their already strong key position stocks with his ability to play at either end of the ground. The former Cohuna local returns home with an impressive resume from his time playing with Blackburn in the Eastern Football League Division 1 competition – which included a club Best & Fairest victory along with multiple selections in the EFL Team of the Year.
Sam Conforti will return to Essendon VFL duties, but the Kangas midfield should still have more than enough firepower to open up a Saints engine room missing Smith, Grant and Marsden. While Rhys Free has been putting together an impressive season, Dylan Johnstone has also been in solid form in recent weeks – and is seemingly just around the corner from a big bag of goals.
The other player who has returned to form in recent weeks for Cohuna has been Joel Helman, with the explosive midfielder starting to return to the form that had him widely held as the competition’s best player for a large portion of last season.
Tip – Cohuna Kangas to win by 60 points.
MALLEE EAGLES v NNW UNITED
THE Mallee Eagles will host Nyah-Nyah West United tomorrow afternoon, with a win the Eagles’ only option if they want to keep their slim finals hopes alive beyond this weekend.
The Eagles (sixth) find themselves six points adrift of Lake Boga (fifth) following their loss to Swan Hill last Saturday. With just one win from their past four matches, the Mallee boys are quickly running out of opportunities to make their run towards the top five – especially with matches against Woorinen and Kerang still to come.
Opportunities aren’t all the Eagles are running out of however, with their injury list seemingly getting longer with each game. I’m sure senior coach Brent Sheahan would love to find exactly who broke the mirror out at the Eagles’ nest, because it would have to be about the only explanation for his side’s horrible luck with injuries in 2022.
Tom McGregor (concussion), Wes Bennett (knee) and Braidon Bennett (hamstring) have all been ruled out of tomorrow’s game, along with Toby Sheahan, while Sam Dunstan would have to be no better than a 50-50 prospect to take his place in the goal square after dislocating his shoulder late in Saturday’s loss to the Swans. They join a long lost of injured Eagles, including Brent Sheahan (broken leg) and Jacob Wade (knee) who have both been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The news isn’t all bad for the boys in blue and gold, with Zac O’Meara and Jack Shannahan only needing to pass a fitness test at training during the week to be considered available to resume from injury.
Despite their heavy loss to Kerang last weekend, NNW United should enter the match full of confidence with full-forward Brent Arho expected to return – and with McGregor now out of the side, the big question is who do the Eagles have that could possibly quell the Demons’ key forward?
The Eagles, led by Harry Allen, have plenty of class in the middle – but the challenge for them will be whether they have the depth to run with United with all their injuries. Darcy McGregor and Beau Bennett are both class acts, but their on-ball division falls away significantly after that – whereas the Demons have up to five or six quality midfielders that will rotate through the centre.
While the Eagles still have plenty to play for, at some point their mounting injuries have to start taking a toll – and I think that moment might nearly be here.
Tip – NNW United to win by 6 points.
