THE clash of Macorna and Hay headlines a round of Golden Rivers league football that shouldn’t spring many surprises this late in the season.
With just one more round to follow, a win for either team won’t do a lot to shake up the ladder, but both will be hoping to build momentum.
The Tigers take the trip out to Hay looking to make amends for a round 10 loss at their home ground.
The sides look closely matched after wins in round 14. Hay put Wandella to the sword, while Macorna easily defeated Murrabit.
Hay claimed victory in both sides’ early meetings this year and sit four wins clear of the Tigers in third position.
They ran out 37-point victors in the round 10 meeting between the teams, with Lions forward Declan Watson kicking nine goals for the day.
Watson has been in fine scoring form, kicking a bag of seven last round against Wandella.
He sits second in the league goalkicking with 36, behind only Murrabit’s Damian Cupido, having played only half the games of the Blues star.
Hay were without Watson for the club’s first meeting of the year, and it almost came unstuck for the Lions, who beat Macorna by a point.
Macorna would have been ruing their inaccuracy, finishing with a score of 13.13 for the day against Hay’s 14.8.
But they will have to play at that same level if they want to cause an upset, with key defender Jacob McIntosh likely to get the job on Watson.
The midfield battle will be one to keep an eye on, with onballers Chris Wilson and Fergus Cattanach to go head to head.
In the league’s other games, top-placed Ultima will travel to Murrabit to take on the struggling Blues.
Ultima will have one eye on the finals, having wrapped up the minor premiership.
It will be a tough ask for Murrabit to keep Ultima’s run quiet, with the Roos bolstered by the returns of Tom Bull and Darcy Farrell and Ryan Devereux last week.
Their impact was immediately felt across the ground, as Ultima ran out 13-point victors against their closest threats Moulamein.
Moulamein will be hoping to immediately bounce back this weekend when they take on fifth-placed Wandella at home.
The Swans will have gained confidence after taking the game up to Ultima last weekend.
They will be faced with a Wandella side with nothing but pride to play for, but who will be out to prove themselves.
