MOULAMEIN will go in as favourites for Saturday’s first semi-final at Hay after comfortably accounting for their opponent Wandella seven days ago.
The Swans haven’t played finals since 2008, but despite facing a Wandella team that are finals regulars, will go into the match undaunted thanks to last Saturday’s result.
Moulamein set up the win with a dominant first half, booting 11 goals to five and putting a 45-point lead on the board at half-time.
Moulamein’s coach Heath Moloney – whose reappointment as senior coach for next season was announced by the club at their best-and-fairest count last weekend – spoke with The Guardian in the lead-up to his club’s first finals appearance in 14 years and was hoping for a repeat performance on Saturday.
“It was a great result,” Moloney said. “What we set out to do was to play good team footy and keep playing the way we’ve been playing
“Like every game we play, you want to start strong and then hopefully carry that form throughout the day.
“The main thing we’ll take out of last Saturday is that we feel we probably have our team set up well against them and that we’ve got everyone playing in the right spots.
“We tried a few different things last game and they all seemed to work, which gives us that versatility to throw the magnets around if needed.
“Last Saturday was a good run for the boys, but finals are always a different game and we need to be prepared for them to come at us with something different.”
While far from having their best team on the park, Wandella were stunned by the ambush they received at the hands of the Swans, especially on the back of their previous month of football, which included four wins from five games.
While disappointed with his team’s lacklustre showing, Wandella coach Logan Keighran was confident that last Saturday was an exception, and predicted a much better performance from his side this time around.
“We think were a lot better side than we showed last weekend and we’ll have a lot better side out on the park this tomorrow too,” he said.
“Their talls were pretty handy up forward, so that’s obviously going to be a real focus area for us, especially Josh Flight.
“Up the ground, we need to work on getting our pressure on their ball carriers a bit better, so that it’s not coming into their forward 50 as cleanly as it was on the weekend.
“That’s really where the game was won and lost – they were just a bit superior in the air up forward and through the middle as well. We lacked a bit of depth through the midfield on the weekend and we have a few guys coming back into the team, which will help in that area as well.”
Players who will return to the Bombers’ line-up include Kane Timmins, Mitch Collins and Mitchell Treacy, with all three set to run through the onball rotations alongside Russell Rich, Darren Rushton and Bradley Delamare.
Also set to come into the Wandella team is Jamie Wilson, with gun midfielder Dillan Treacy also rated a 50-50 prospect to resume.
The middle of the ground is likely to be where the game is won and lost, with both clubs at their best when their onballers are getting their hands on the ball first.
The Wandella engine room will hold no fears for Moulamein despite their superior depth, with the Swans also possessing plenty of weapons to challenge the perennial finalists.
Daniel Aarsman is a class act who will be the man the Bombers will need to put plenty of time into. The Swans’ newly crowned best-and-fairest is capable of impacting the game either through the middle or up forward.
Aarsman isn’t Moulamein’s only danger man, with Luke Shannon, Corey Farrell, Rodney Reeves, Ely Miller and Mason Bailey all capable of turning the game off their own boot.
Keighran was quick to point out that his team needed to perform to a higher standard than last week around the contests and was hopeful his onballers would return to form with the extra additions on Saturday afternoon.
“It all starts in the midfield for us,” Keighran said. “Our midfield has been the barometer over the last 10 weeks of really good footy that we’ve played.
“I think when we’re playing well it’s on the back of our midfield getting on top and using our superior leg speed to get away from the contest and get the ball into space. When we can do that, that’s when we’re playing our best footy.
“That will be the key for us on the weekend – making sure we defend well when we don’t have the footy and when we do have it, be clean and get it out to our runners.
“Our midfield brigade in general have put together a really good month prior to last week. I think Russell Rich and Kane Timmins hold the key to our chances in there, while Corey Walters is one who, when he’s firing, we’re up and about.”
While the Bombers will be out to get their hands on the ball first, much will depend on their ruck division of Ricky Cathie and Leighton Wilkins being able to counter the dominance of Anthony Daw and Moloney.
While Moloney will have a big say personally on his team’s ability to get the ball out of the middle, he isn’t focused solely on the middle – preferring to focus on a whole-ground approach to his side’s performance.
“We want to be strong all over the ground and I think we’ve put the work in to get everyone performing all over the ground,” Moloney said.
“We’ve got Anthony (Daw) in the ruck who has been playing brilliant footy, while Cody Storm has been great in defence along with Jacob Thorn. We’d like to think we’re tough to play all over the ground with the team we’ve managed to put together.”
Moulamein’s other big strength, as identified by Keighran, is their forward line, particularly their key marking targets Josh Flight and Beau Duggan-Hulands. Duggan-Hulands (39 goals) and Flight (35) will hold the key to Moulamein kicking a winning score, with Tim Robinson the man most likely to take Flight and a combination of Jayden Crellin and Matthew Wilkinson to handle Duggan-Hulands.
Wandella have a different approach at the other end of the ground, with Sam Sperling, Keighran and Walters all consistent contributors to the scoreboard, along with their bevy of midfielders. Keighran has led the way this season with 38 goals for his side and looms as the man most likely, with either Cody Storm or Moloney set to play on the key marking forward for the Bombers.
There will be no next week for the loser, so expect both clubs to throw everything at the game in an effort to live and fight another day. But as the old saying goes, winning form is good form – and that advantage clearly lies with the Swans.
Tip – Moulamein to win by five points.
