REIGNING premiers Kerang will face their second big test in as many weeks when they meet Woorinen at Tigerland.
The visitors will need to be up for the challenge once again, with the Tigers’ ability to pressure and defend their home patch making Saturday’s clash a potential danger game for the unbeaten Blues.
Woorinen have also been in good form to start the season, having beaten both Cohuna and Lake Boga among their four wins so far.
This weekend presents a perfect opportunity to claim their first big scalp – and make a statement in the process.
While the Tigers will be full of confidence after their 45-point win over the Magpies, the real test will be in executing their well-honed game plan against the most disciplined side in the competition, according to senior coach Marcus Demaria.
“We always want to be confident, but Kerang are the benchmark – if you can beat Kerang, then your team’s travelling pretty well,” Demaria said.
“We’re starting to hit a bit of form, but in saying that we still have a bit of work to do in terms of functionality in our forward half.
“If we can get that right and execute our game plan that we have in place for when we do play Kerang, then we’ll be in the game at the end – but if we’re not prepared to execute properly, we won’t get near them.
“We generally match up pretty well (against Kerang), but in saying that, they beat us pretty convincingly twice last year, but we know when we’re at our best that we can challenge them right to the end.”
Kerang senior coach Troy Coates backed his side to play in a similar vein to last weekend.
“We’ll go into Saturday’s game with a similar approach to what we did against Balranald and just aim to play with a bit of freedom,” Coates said.
“Our playing group always seems to rise to the challenge against very good opposition and that’s what Woorinen are.
“We may have a couple of changes to the side, but we’ll go out there and give it a good crack against a team who we’ve always found hard to beat on their home ground.”
One of those changes is certain to be midfield bull Marty Kelly, who broke a finger last weekend and has been ruled out.
His replacement could be premiership half-back Lachlan Ross, who only needed to get through training to get his first run of the season.
Kerang should be able to cover the loss of Kelly by giving extra minutes to their other premium midfielders in Brad Pay, Ryan Gillingham, Josh Nitschke and company.
They will find it slightly harder, however, to replace to tap work and ruck craft of Nick Lang, who will continue to miss with a knee injury.
“I think (Woorinen) line up very similar to us, in that they have a really strong midfield and they’re also a very good defensive unit,” Coates said.
“They probably have trouble finding goal scorers at times and we’re the same – I’d like to think both teams are strong in the middle and down back, but the game will probably be won and lost with which team gets on top in their forward line.
“We’ll put some work into their more dangerous forwards, but I think they’re really strong around the footy too and they have some big bodies in the midfield like (Josh) Domaille that we’ll have to watch.
“I think if we can match them with the physicality then I think we can probably get them on the outside.”
While Woorinen will turn to their much-improved pressure game to help force Kerang into errors, Demaria agreed with Coates on the importance of the forward lines – with the Tigers having the number one ranked offence in the competition this season.
“Our functionality in our forward half needs to be a lot better and we need to find better cohesion amongst our players,” Demaria said.
“We’ve got a pretty new-look forward line and we’re still trying to find the right mix and which guys are better suited deeper towards goals or higher up the ground, but I’m confident we’ll have it right by the weekend.”
While there are likely to be many match-ups deciding the contest, the battle out of the centre square will be the main event.
If the Tigers are to win, they need to see the very best out of some of their key players, particularly recruit Danko Bzenic and Angus Butterfield, who have both shown glimpses of their supreme talent, but need to produce it for the full four quarters.
Tip – Woorinen to win by three points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Lachlan Gardner v Troy Davis
GARDNER has once again shown his value as a natural ruckman in 2023, with the former best-and-fairest winner taking over the mantle of No.1 ruck from Arnold Kirby and quickly becoming their barometer once again.
With Nick Lang again set to miss with a knee injury, Troy Davis will have to step in and do the bulk of the heavy lifting against the workhorse Gardner, which will be no easy feat.
With possession and time in forward half set to play such a vital role in the outcome, which ruckman is able to give their side first use out of the middle will be pivotal.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Can Woorinen shut down Kerang’s ball movement?
WE all know how good Kerang are at maintaining possession. In fact, when you give the ball up to them, you very rarely touch it again until it’s back in the middle.
But not many opposition sides apply pressure like the Tigers, who like their namesake, love to hunt in packs and pick off the weakest links in the chain.
Unfortunately, Woorinen were found wanting in that department against Balranald back in round 3, but they have a chance to display that hunger at home against the competition’s best.
