LAKE Boga will be out to end Woorinen’s nine-game winning streak when the two teams clash at Lake Boga this weekend – in what shapes as a must-win game for the Magpies.
Boga (fifth) find themselves eight and 10 points clear of the Mallee Eagles (sixth) and Balranald on the ladder. But, with a tough run home over the final four rounds, the Magpies are anything but guaranteed of a finals berth.
While they secured the four points with a 25-point win over NNW United last Saturday, the Magpies were anything but convincing and will need to step it up a gear if they are to compete with a rampaging Tigers outfit on Saturday.
The only negative for the Tigers at the moment is their growing injury list, with Angus Butterfield (shoulder) and Nyawi Moore (hamstring) the latest casualties. Ben Booth and Taylor Cameron will also be missing from this weekend’s game, although they will likely regain Adam Saunders and Lachlan Wright.
Butterfield will be a huge loss for the remainder of the season. His ability to both intercept mark and run and carry the football is a key component of Woorinen’s defensive structure.
Lake Boga aren’t without their injury concerns, with Angus Monfries having injured his hamstring during the first half last Saturday and taking no further part in the match. As with Butterfield, Monfries’ absence will be massive for the Magpies’ forward structure, with the pressure now set to fall on the shoulders of Jayden Lonergan and Andrew Clark to kick them a winning score.
Scoring shouldn’t be an issue for the Tigers, however, especially if Wright slots back into the forward line – although with Booth and Butterfield out, it would be very tempting for coach Marcus Demaria to throw him into defence.
Regardless of where Wright lines up, the visitors should have no problem putting a competitive score on the board, with both Patrick Veszpremi and Lachlan Gardner having provided strong presences up forward over the past fortnight.
If Lake Boga are to challenge Woorinen, then they’ll need to get it done out of the middle, with big games from Jacob Simpson and Josh Cruse-Filo a must.
But, with Monfries missing and the Woorinen midfield in form, you can expect the Tigers to keep their unbeaten streak intact for another week.
Tip – Woorinen to win by 26 points.
BALRANALD v KOONDROOK-BARHAM
FROM this point, the equation is very simple for Balranald. Win, and finals are still possible – lose, and it’s season over.
With that in mind, one can expect the Roos to come out all guns blazing, despite hosting the lowly Koondrook-Barham at Greenham Park.
While Balranald’s finals dream may be still alive, the Raiders’ hopes of seeing September action have long been extinguished. While Koondrook-Barham haven’t tasted victory since their round 3 encounter with Tyntynder, this presents as their first winnable game in over a well over a month, having faced all five of the current finalists in their past five matches.
The Roos will regain the services of Ned Lay for this weekend’s match-up, with the home side close to full strength in their run towards the end of the season.
The biggest battle will most likely take place in the centre of Greenham Park, with both teams relying heavily on their midfields to get the job done. Balranald have both depth and class in their on-ball division, which will be one of the reasons they should go into the game as favourites.
Colin Andrews, Jydon Neagle and Tom Salau are all classy footballers who rarely waste a possession, while Ryan Middlebrook, Jack Salau and the Soraggi boys – Connor and Harrison – are all capable of rotating through the middle. Throw in Drew Lloyd, who is a contested-ball beast around the stoppages when he isn’t playing forward, and the Roos appear to have a very strong engine room.
While the midfield is clearly a strength of the home side, the same can be said for Koondrook-Barham, who have enough polish in the middle to trouble Balranald. Jordan and Lucas Iudica can both find plenty of the ball, while Jack Thrum, Patrick Goble and Jack Shannon are capable of turning a game off their own boot as well.
Koondrook-Barham’s biggest issue all season has been their inability to impact the scoreboard in any meaningful fashion – and while their midfield is able to get enough of the ball, their entries into their forward 50 leave a lot to be desired.
With so much still to play for, it’s hard to see Balranald dropping this match. But if they aren’t 100 per cent on their game, then an upset could well be on the cards.
Tip – Balranald to win by 20 points.
MALLEE EAGLES v KERANG
KERANG will be in the very foreign position of trying to get back on the winners’ list this weekend when they travel to Lalbert to take on the Mallee Eagles.
Not only were the Blues ambushed by a desperate and determined Woorinen in their last outing, they’ve also had a fortnight to stew on it following their bye last Saturday. The Mallee Eagles were also undone by the Tigers in their last match, going down to the two-time reigning premiers by 66 points seven days ago.
This season just hasn’t gone to plan for the Mallee boys, with a lengthy injury list from round 3 onwards completely derailing their season. Adding to their pain will be Zac O’Meara, who will miss after injuring his hamstring against Woorinen.
O’Meara’s intercept marking ability will be sorely missed across half-back, however it’s not all bad news. The Eagles are hoping to regain ruckman Angus McKenzie and midfielder-half back Jack Shannahan from injury, providing they both passed fitness tests overnight.
The home side won’t be the only ones with a big inclusion, with Bryce Curnow expected to resume following his recent health scare. It’s expected that Curnow will slot straight into the role of leading forward, with his presence sure to provide the Blues’ midfielders with that strong marking target that’s been missing in recent weeks.
Curnow’s return will set up a mouth-watering clash with Eagles stopper Tom McGregor, who has regularly put the clamps on last year’s Jack Betts medallist.
While McGregor is able to compete in the air, he’s going to need assistance at ground level from his small defenders, with Troy Coates and Sean Hunter the other big threats inside 50 – and the ones most likely to take the game away from the home side.
Kerang should also have too much class through the middle, with Sam Heavyside, Marty Kelly, Josh Nitschke and Bradlee Pay all in form.
Nick Stagg is another onballer who has been playing some sensational football since coming to the Blues, but the question will be whether he takes to the field after appearing to injure his groin in the second half a fortnight ago.
The challenge for the Mallee Eagles will be in trying to contain the damaging runners that the Blues possess, especially off half-back. Lachlan Ross and Jesse Clark constantly provide their team with the ideal springboard to launch an attack – and this game should be no different.
While it’s a must-win game for the home side in their attempts to keep their finals campaign alive, I’m afraid they may be just a few too many soldiers down to mount a rearguard action at this stage of the season.
Tip – Kerang to win by 50 points.
COHUNA KANGAS v SWAN HILL
THE Kangas will host Swan Hill, with the home side having returned to form with back-to-back 90 plus-point wins over the past fortnight.
Both of those victories came at the expense of Tooleybuc-Manangatang and Koondrook-Barham and should be met with an element of calm by the Kangas faithful, considering both teams’ results so far this season. The same approach should be taken should the Kangas overpower the Swans as expected.
The last time they met was in round 5, with Cohuna walking away with a comfortable 75-point victory. The good news for Swan Hill is they won’t have to contend with Tom Toma, who took them apart with a four-goal performance from the midfield on that occasion, this time around.
They will however have to find a way to negate Jarrod Findlay, Daniel Coates and the ever-damaging Joel Helman, who has been in sensational touch over the past month. Matthew Wade has been every bit as impressive as Helman in the centre, but the challenge for the Swans will be to find help – outside of Xavier Moloney and Tom Holdstock – to run through the midfield and compete with the Kangas’ engine room on the wide spaces of Cohuna Recreation Reserve.
Not only will it be a big challenge in trying to negate the Kangas’ midfield for the visitors, but they also have to stop Cohuna’s ball movement, which they do so well on their own home ground. Their ability to spread the opposition wide and use the width of the ground is what makes them so dangerous, as well as their ability to get the ball in to their key forwards Rhys Free and Dylan Johnstone with speed and precision.
The most important aspect of the game for Swan Hill will be at the contest and getting their hands on the ball first, which has been one of their strengths in the past. The hard part for the Swans will then be finding a way through the well organised Cohuna back six – and then kicking a total that will compete with the high-scoring Kangas.
Tip – Cohuna to win by 54 points.
