A SPOT inside the top five is expected to be the winners’ prize when Nyah-Nyah West United and Swan Hill face off in a must-win game at the Nyah Rec. Reserve tomorrow afternoon.
With just four rounds remaining, tomorrow’s winner will most likely take over the finals hot seat from the fifth-placed Cohuna Kangas, who would need to upset unbeaten Kerang to avoid that fate.
Of equal importance to both clubs is the likelihood that a loss almost eliminates them from finals equations, with the sixth-placed Swans’ poor percentage and seventh-placed Demons’ extra loss already seeing them sit a game outside the top five .
NNW United could consider themselves unlucky to find themselves where they are, losing to premiership favourites Kerang by a solitary point last week – their second one-point loss this season (the other being in round 2 against Lake Boga).
While Swan Hill may sit on seven wins, along with Lake Boga and Cohuna, their poor percentage leaves them the most vulnerable, with senior coach Cal Beasy telling The Guardian his team will be putting it all on the line tomorrow.
“It’s pretty much the start of the finals for us, if we don’t treat tomorrow like a final, then we won’t make it,” Beasy said.
“It’s pretty much an early elimination final and I think they (NNW United) will be treating it similar.
“They have a lot stronger side since we last played them, they had a lot of injuries earlier in the season and they’ve got a lot of their list back now.
“We’re expecting a much harder encounter this time and that’s what we’re preparing for.”
The two clubs last met back in round 4 this season, with the Swans claiming a 32-point win in a twilight match at the Showgrounds. Former Essendon star Michael Hurley kicked four goals in a cameo appearance for Swan Hill.
For NNW United, that evening was seen as another winnable game of footy that got away from them, much like last Saturday’s loss to the reigning premiers, with co-coach Corey Daniels expecting a much better performance from his players this time around.
“They (Swan Hill) like to possess the ball and chip it around, like they did last time we played them,” Daniels said.
“I think teams evolve as the season progresses, we’re nothing like the side that ran out that night, and I’m sure they’ll be nothing like the one that ran out that night as well.
“(Last week) was a really good game of footy, the ball moved up and down pretty quick and our pressure was good, we just couldn’t hang on in the end, which was disappointing, but that’s how it goes.
“Hopefully we can get the job done this weekend – I’m sure if we play anywhere near our best, it’ll be good enough, we just need to play our best footy.”
The Demons’ best footy is indeed very good, with their outside speed and ability to spread from the contest making them almost impossible to stop at the peak of their powers.
But Swan Hill’s best is very good as well, albeit in a very different game style to the Demons, with the Swans relying heavily on their ability to win the contested ball and maintain possession through the likes of Matthew Wade, Jose Miliado and the in-form Luke Phelan.
“Matt Wade’s so important to them, if we can stop him, it’ll go a long way to us winning the game of footy,” Daniels said.
“If you look through the games they’ve won, he’s had a fair influence on them, if we can stop him, we’ll give ourselves every chance to win.
“Whether we go head-to-head with him or sit someone on him, we’ll probably plan for both and just see how the day pans out.
“We want to run, we want to handball and we want to take the game on, the big turning point was our game against Balranald, since then we’ve been playing some good consistent footy.”
NNW United will welcome back Jarrod Stokes, Joel Campbell and Dean Harrop to their line-up, but will lose Daniels, who suffered another hamstring tear late in last Saturday’s loss, which will end his 2023 campaign.
The Demons aren’t on their own with injury concerns, with Zach Mihocek and Elijah Miliado expected to miss tomorrow’s match, and Matt Pearse set to return.
Ethan Saville, Brayden Bigham, Charlie Boulton and Dom Gallo offer plenty of pace through the midfield and up forward for the Demons, with Beasy and the Swans’ hierarchy hoping to tighten up in the midfield and keep the game played in close.
“We’ll just have to work on our accountability, especially around the contests,” Beasy said.
“They aren’t the only side that plays that way, but we’ll have to be switched on and not allow them to have any easy exits, that’s for sure.
“At the moment, we’re our own worst enemy with our disposal and efficiency in front of goal, so we’ll just focus on what we can improve on and hopefully that’s good enough.”
While the Swans may have got the points last time, the Demons’ current form line is impossible to ignore and should be celebrating with yet another home win tomorrow evening.
Tip – NNW United to win by 12 points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Joel Walsh v Kallen Heslop
Whether Walsh goes to Heslop or one of the Swans’ other key forwards, whoever gets the job will need to pay very close attention to the dangerous intercept defender wearing red and blue.
While the Demons’ big strength is their speed and run and spread from the contest, the other is Walsh, who has been dominant in not only cutting off many opposition forward entries, but creating several of the Demons’ own.
The Swans will need to stop his influence, whether that is through playing a negating forward on him, or keeping him accountable
THE BURNING QUESTION
How big a loss will Corey Daniels be?
While he may have played just six games due to injury this season, there’s no denying NNW United are a better side with their co-coach in it than not.
A reoccurrence of a hamstring injury that saw Daniels miss seven games will this time end his season, which would be a sad end to his time as coach, having already announced this season will be his last at the Demons’ helm.
Made a massive difference to NNW United’s forward line against Lake Boga upon his return, and one can only wonder who fills that void now Daniels is no longer available.
