AFTER narrowly avoiding their second defeat of the season last Saturday, Moulamein hope for a much easier time visiting Hay tomorrow afternoon.
The Lions, a team on the rise this season, had been in decent form prior to their 34-point loss to Ultima last weekend.
However, they will be be undermanned when they run out against last year’s grand finalists, with Simon Bunyan (knee), Daniel Gash (calf) and Declan Watson (groin) all set to miss after suffering injuries.
Key players Luke Arandt, Pat Jubb and Dom Booth were already on the sidelines.
Defender Andrew Low was expected to return, but with so many of their top end talent missing, tomorrow shapes as a big test for the Lions depth, according to senior coach Mick Cattanach.
“We’ve got a few out, but we’re at home so we’d still expect to be competitive,” Cattanach said.
“We have a squad mentality this season. Last week against Ultima gave us the chance to have a look at a few of the younger and less-experienced guys and see how they perform playing in key positions, and they did really well.
“In terms of development, it’s a great challenge and a great opportunity.”
The Swans will also make changes, with Lochlan Phillips and Kaylem Hartley expected to miss.
Their loss will be offset by the expected return of key players Blake Azzopardi, Andy Silva and Nathan Buckley, with Swans coach Heath Moloney hoping his team’s outside run proves the difference.
“We pride ourselves on being first to the ball and with Anthony Daw back in the side and giving us first use, we need to make sure we hit our forwards early,” Moloney said.
“It will be a fast-paced game and Mason Bailey, who has been running off half-back and using the ball well since we moved him back there, will be important for us once again.”
Cattanach also nominated Daniel Aarsman and Moloney as players the home side will be keeping a close eye on.
Moloney’s ability to play behind the ball will force the Lions midfielders to look at how they deliver the ball inside their attacking 50.
Hay will also be hoping to stop Moulamein’s outside run by playing the game in close, according to Cattanach.
“We’ve been pretty good at winning the inside ball, but we just have to keep working hard on making sure we don’t give too much uncontested ball to the opposition,” Cattanach said.
“The reality is we’ve always been a strong inside ball winning team and we’ll be making sure we keep it that way on Saturday.”
While Hay and Moulamein will be battling it out in a top-three contest, Murrabit and Wandella will be doing likewise at the other end of the ladder.
It will be a big day for the Blues, with former Hawthorn and Sydney Swan player Josh Kennedy making a one-off appearance in an attempt to help them to their first win of the season.
Kennedy won’t be the only change to Murrabit’s line-up however, with Nathan Henry, Toby Gray and Michael Crossett all expected to return for the Blues, while both Jono and Ed Aujard will miss.
For the Bombers, tomorrow is a must-win game if they want to have any hope of climbing back into the finals race, with Brad Delamare expected to come back into the side after missing last Saturday’s 81-point loss to Macorna.
At Tigerland, ladder leaders Ultima will take on fourth placed Macorna.
While the Roos have taken all before them so far this season, the Tigers aren’t without a chance of causing an upset, with their forward line of Lachlan Ritchie and Troy Parker likely to pose a headache for the Ultima defence.
