Match of the Round
BALRANALD will be keen to atone for last Saturday’s shock loss to Lake Boga when they host ladder leaders Kerang in what many pundits predict to be a preview of this year’s Central Murray grand final.
The Roos’ second defeat of the season has all but guaranteed the unbeaten Blues top spot on the ladder, with Kerang finding themselves two games and percentage clear in first place.
But there will still be plenty to play for, according to Kerang coach Troy Coates, with the visitors expecting a hostile reception when they venture up to Greenham Park for the first time since 2019.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of going up there, it was a good result last Saturday with Boga beating them because it takes a bit of the pressure off us now with regard to top spot,” Coates said.
“With that said, there’s no better fuel to the fire than losing a game, it always tends to motivate good sides and particularly on their home ground, we’re expecting them (Balranald) to come out hard.
“These types of games with high intensity are important coming into finals and I feel we play our best footy against the best opposition, our boys always seem to respond well when we’re challenged.
“We haven’t played at Balranald for a few years, so it’ll be interesting to see how we stack up on their ground, considering the second semi will be played there too.”
The Blues will be without Bradlee Pay, who injured his hamstring a fortnight ago against the Kangas, joining Lachlan Ross and Michael Dalrymple on the sidelines as they also recover from hamstring strains, while Jack Daglish will return for his first game since the Blues round 12 win over the Eagles.
Balranald have their own injury concerns, with the absences of Jordan Wilkins (elbow) and Nathan Ablett (hamstring) leaving them undersized and exposed in the big man department last Saturday against the Magpies.
It will be a turnaround in fortunes since the last time the sides met, when Kerang were without No.1 ruckman Nick Lang, now set to be a major piece of their puzzle on Saturday afternoon.
While Ablett is likely to return, along with Rory Fitzgerald, Lang’s presence will still give the talent-laden Kerang midfield a major advantage in an area of the ground that is expected to decide the outcome, according to Coates.
“I rate their midfield highly and they have some quality players in their side like the Neagle brothers, Gant and Lloyd among others,” Coates said.
“They can all find plenty of the ball, so we have to have a mindset where we need to try and limit their impact, as well as playing our game as well.
“It was a low-scoring game last time we played, even though it was a perfect day for footy and I think it could be similar again.
“(Balranald) went very defensive that day, which is fine, but I think we need to have a similar mindset as well, especially since Ben Fuller only played a short amount of time that game as well.”
Roos coach Jydon Neagle said a big focus would be on shutting down Kerang’s quick and accurate ball movement.
“They (Kerang) are very silky with the ball, so if we can put a bit of pressure on them and not give them a free run at it like they did last time, that will go a long way to us winning I feel,” Neagle said.
“Their ball use is on another level, they are very clean with the ball and don’t waste many opportunities going forward, so we need to be switched on defensively all over the ground.
“We had one fit player on the bench from half-time onwards last time we played them, so if we can stay fit and stay in the game for four quarters, we should hopefully give them a good run.”
While both teams tend to play an attacking, free-wheeling brand of football at their best, a dour defensive contest could well be expected on Saturday afternoon, with Coates also hoping to shut down the Roos’ run and carry off half-back.
“We have to try and get the balance right between our attacking brand of footy and our defensive brand,” Coates said.
“Our attacking game holds up well, but when we turn the ball over, we have to work back just as hard defensively and be accountable.
“There’s been a couple of games this year where we’ve been found out in that area a little bit and we can’t let that happen.”
Tip – Kerang to win by four points.
