LONG-time rivals Swan Hill and Tyntynder will write another chapter in their lengthy history when they clash under lights at the Showgrounds on Saturday night.
Aside from the delight the Swans and Bulldogs get from beating the other, winning appears a must for both sides after disappointing losses last Saturday.
Swan Hill were given a football lesson against Woorinen, suffering an 88-point loss.
Tyntynder’s performance against the Mallee Eagles was equally embarrassing, losing to a club with just one win to that point of the season by 45 points.
It wasn’t just the margin in each instance, but the manner in which they lost, each managing just five goals in their lacklustre displays.
Swan Hill coach Cal Beasy acknowledged the importance of a win for his club’s season.
“It’s a huge game for us, we knew that we had a few tough weeks and unfortunately we didn’t measure up against Balranald or Woorinen,” Beasy said.
“We haven’t been happy with the way we’ve played in either game and we really do need to turn things around in what’s obviously a bit of a grudge match.
“There’s never too much in the final result between us and Tyntynder because there’s a bit more than just four points at stake usually, but this year it’s even more so considering we’re fairly even on the ladder as well.”
Tyntynder are also desperately in need of the four points, with their finals hopes just about up in smoke with just two wins from seven matches, with another loss certain to end their season.
The Bulldogs’ poor ball use has largely been to blame for their poor form and coach Josh Stone said his players would need to be cleaner with their disposal.
“We had times where we were OK last week, but our turnovers were what hurt us majorly,” Stone said.
“It’s been a bit of a disappointing part of our season, the inconsistency in our game has been hard to combat.
“If the boys can’t get up for this one, I’d be very surprised – it’s a big rivalry game and everyone wants to play well, but we just weren’t ourselves last week and if you’re just a little bit off this season then you won’t be anywhere near it.
“We have to be switched on and use the ball a lot better, we’ve been breaking down across centre half forward a lot this year like we did last season, so we just have to try and find a different way to goal really.”
Lack of composure with the ball was also a lament of Swans coach Beasy during his side’s loss to Woorinen.
“We’re our own worst enemy at times,” Beasy said.
“We get our hands on the ball often enough, but we just haven’t used it well enough to put that scoreboard pressure on our opponents.
“We’re not that far away, even though the scoreboard would probably suggest otherwise. If we clean up our skill errors a bit then the game will turn pretty quickly for us, but that’s a lot easier to say than do.”
The Bulldogs may have an easier time getting the ball inside 50 this week, with Tyrone Bean, Roy George and Elliott Broad all set to return.
Kicking a winning score when it gets there may be a challenge, with full forward Jason Eagle needing to pass a fitness test to be declared fit to play.
Swan Hill are likely to be without Zach Mihocek and Jared Halligan, after both failed to return to the field after half-time last week.
With Toby Thoolen in great form this season and Matthew Wade, Brandon Houlihan and Jose Miliado, who should return from his one-match suspension, in the midfield, the Swans should go into the match as slight favourites.
But Stone hoped the Bulldogs’ depth around the ground will be his team’s point of difference.
“I think if we can get it into our forward line then we can expose them,” Stone said.
“They’re going to be a little bit light on up forward, so I would hope our backline should be able to get on top and we should be able to counteract them a lot from there.
“It’s all going to come down to our forward movement and whether we’re switched on enough to kick a winning score.”
With very little separating both sides, it’s hard to tip with confidence, but with just a touch more high-class talent with Wade, Miliado and Thoolen, Swan Hill should get the job done – just.
Tip – Swan Hill to win by four points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Toby Thoolen v Hugh Broad
TYNTYNDER’S Broad is having a breakout season, taking over the ruck responsibilities and outperforming most expectations.
This week will require his absolute best to compete against arguably the most in-form ruckman in the competition.
While Swan Hill may have struggled against last week, Thoolen did not, enjoying a hard-fought battle with Lachie Gardner where the points were shared.
Given the opposition’s midfield class, it’s vital Broad doesn’t allow Thoolen free reign to feed easy ball to his onballers.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Can Swan Hill kick a winning score?
THE Swans’ Achilles heel in recent weeks has been their capacity to score and with Zach Mihocek going down with a hamstring injury, that’s unlikely to get any better.
Their key forward targets aren’t going to trouble the likes of Matthew Gillbee and Tate Hulland, so they will need to find another way of kicking a winning score.
They must get creative up forward, so maybe it’s time to move Xavier Moloney deep and play him out of the square, and rotate Matthew Wade and Jose Miliado through the forward 50 as well.
Yes, that will take away from the midfield, but five goals won’t be a winning score – it’s time to get dangerous.
