ONE of two fairy tales will come to an end in the Golden Rivers Football Netball League preliminary final on Saturday as Quambatook takes on Moulamein at Wandella.
The Saints’ story has been well publicised this season, and there are no second chances, with a loss meaning the club’s 111-year history will be complete.
The Swans’ narrative is almost as intriguing, with this season being their first finals appearance since 2008. After a 34-year premiership drought, head coach Heath Moloney told The Guardian his charges are using it as motivation.
“Obviously, finals are hard to come by, and Moulamein has struggled to make them for quite some time, so we’re just trying to make sure everyone respects being here and recognises the hard work that’s gone into it,” Moloney said.
The Swans are coming into the game fresh following a week off after their 44-point win against Wandella in the elimination final.
Defender Jacob Thorne injured his ankle that day and will not make it back for the do-or-die contest.
“He’s a big loss for us, but someone will have to step up and do the job,” Moloney said.
According to Moloney, the bye turned out to be crucial for the Swans, who are now raring to go.
“It came at the right time – we had a few boys who were a bit sore and a couple with the flu – so it allowed everyone to freshen up a bit.”
The Saints have better news on the inclusions front, with Christopher Kendell making himself available for selection and Jarred Schlitz confirmed to come back into the line-up for a massive job on either Josh Flight or Beau Duggan-Hulands.
The pair were vital in the Swans’ victory two weeks ago, with Flight kicking five and Duggan-Hulands four.
“I’m pretty confident we can match them around the ground, so we just need to capitalise when we’ve got the ball in our forward 50, and I know our forwards will as they are in superb form,” Moloney said.
Saints head coach Tim Free is under no illusion of the massive weapon his opponents possess.
“Were certainly conscious that there a dangerous outfit – they have forwards in good form, and if they get the supply to their forward half, they’re certainly capable of getting a big score,” Free said.
“I imagine Schlitz and Ashley Davis will play those key defensive roles, which they’ve done all season and have done a tremendous job limiting key forwards, including the two games we’ve played against Moulamein.”
The Saints are coming off a disappointing showing against firm premiership favourite Nullawil last weekend.
The 77-point loss certainly dented the Saints’ flag hopes but Free and his men have put that behind them.
“It was a tough week – Nullawil were able to play a really solid brand of footy, and whilst we were able to match it in periods, we couldn’t over the four quarters, and the result indicated as much,” Free said.
“But our attitude has been to move on quickly – there’s not much we can do about last weekend now – and all our attention has been put into Moulamein this week.”
In the two contests between the sides this year, the Saints have won both times comfortably, with victories by 47 points in round 4 and by 28 in round 11.
But both coaches recognise those results aren’t that important in the heat of finals.
“I would imagine both sides will go in close to full strength, and the results earlier in the year don’t mean a huge amount,” Free said. “We’ll make a few small structural changes that we feel will suit us well this weekend.”
Moloney agreed: “We were probably both games changing a few things around and still trying to gel as a group, especially earlier in the season against them.”
The inside midfield battle will be crucial.
If Swans stars Daniel Aarsman, Mason Bailey, Luke Shannon and Corey Farrell can find the football first and get the ball to their outside runners, they’ll be tough to beat.
This was an area where they dominated Wandella in two weeks ago, and Free is definitely planning for it.
“We need to get the ball in our hands by winning contested footy,” he said. “Their run and carry is only as good as their access to the footy in tight, so we need to make sure we win it at the source and allow our runners to get their hands on it and cause some damage in the opposite direction.
“We understand, whether it’s Moulamein or Nullawil, both of those outfits have quality outside ball users that, if given time and space, can cause significant problems.”
The Swans will need to keep an eye on William Collicoat.
The star forward has kicked seven goals in the two games against the Swans this season and is in good form, producing an incredible first quarter against Nullawil last week with three goals.
“Zach Prentice will go to him, and he’ll have to be on as (Collicoat) is a good player,” Moloney said.
“We’re more focused on our own game, though – if we can be the first to the ball and use it well, we think we can get the job done.”
Besides Nullawil, the Swans feel like the form team of the competition, but they run into a side they haven’t got close to this season.
If they can open the game up and get their outside run going, it will go a long way to getting the job done.
But this is easier said than done, with Saints midfielders Tobie Cameron, Ricky Wild and Pras Sayakhot sure to be planning to dominate the contest.
While the Swans have improved since their previous meetings, the Saints will still head in as favourites and should get the job done in a tight one.
Tip – Quambatook by six points.
