WANDELLA will be out to make it two wins on the trot when they travel to Moulamein to take on the unbeaten Swans.
With their season seemingly on the line last Saturday, the Bombers responded with a comfortable 48-point win over Murrabit, showing signs of being back to near their best.
However, they will need to be all that and more when they face the Swans, who have so far taken all before them this season.
While Moulamein may be one of the form sides of the Golden Rivers, along with Ultima, Swans coach Heath Moloney is adamant their best is yet to come.
He told The Guardian his side were still a work in progress.
“We’ve been good all over the ground, but I don’t think we’ve played our best footy as yet,” Moloney said.
“We’re not far away and we’re playing some good footy, but we’re still trying to work a few things out and keep improving, but we’ll just take every game as it comes and keep working to get better.”
Wandella senior coach Logan Keighran is faced with a similar situation, but with a win on the board, he felt his side was ready to match it with the early premiership favourites.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity for our group, the fact that we’ve been able to build some confidence now after last week will hold us in good stead going into Saturday I believe,” Keighran said.
“We just need to be bold and play brave footy.
“I think if we play the way we want to play, then we know we can get on top of them and score heavily.”
The Bombers will be without Brock Henderson (concussion) and Matt Wilkinson, but likely regain Corey Walters and midfielder Adam Ward, providing the latter passes a fitness test at training.
Moulamein hand have an almost-full playing list to choose from, except for Beau Duggan-Hulands, who will again miss with an injured calf.
While Duggan-Hulands’ absence leaves a big hole, the Swans have proven to possess more than enough firepower to challenge Wandella, with Andy Silva, Khy Stovell and Daniel Aarsman all among the leading goal kickers in the competition this season.
The Bombers will be hoping their star-studded midfield, led by Russell Rich and Kane Timmins, can deny their opposition the ball, and to win the match by locking the ball in their forward half of the ground.
The other match of great interest this weekend will be at Hay, where the Lions host Macorna.
The Tigers will be looking to rebound from a couple of disappointing losses to both Moulamein and Ultima, and while they need to start winning games if they want to be a genuine finals contender, they won’t have it all their own way against the Lions.
Making their task harder will be the absences of star midfielder Malcolm Neiwand, out for an extended period with a hamstring injury, and Troy Parker.
Winless Murrabit have a big task ahead of them, taking on ladder leaders Ultima.
The undefeated Roos should account for the bottom-of-the-ladder Blues, especially with Kyle Symons set to return.
Murrabit are also expected to have a welcome inclusion, veteran Nathan Henry, although they will be without the suspended Nathan Morrow.
