HAVING gone through the home-and-away season undefeated, Sea Lake Nandaly are warm favourites to advance to the North Central grand final tomorrow.
But awaiting them in the second semi-final will be the one team that has challenged them during their 16-match win streak, reigning premiers Birchip-Watchem.
It took until the dying stages for the Tigers to secure a six-point win in round 2, before following up with a nine-point win in round 11.
On both occasions, the Bulls ended the day with more scoring shots, but inaccuracy in front of goal at crucial moments scuppered their chances.
Birchip-Watchem coach Trevor Ryan was confident of turning the tables and securing consecutive grand final appearances.
“We’ve been in both games we’ve played against them this season and I feel we match up against them pretty well,” Ryan told The Guardian this week.
“They’re a damn good football side and are a hard team to beat, but we’re not afraid of them that’s for sure.
“They don’t have a lot of weaknesses, their back line’s pretty strong, they’ve got a dangerous midfield and with Josh Jenkins and Billy McInnes up forward, they’ve got a really strong forward combination with both talls and smalls.
“It’s going to be one of those contests where we’ll need to play the game on our terms as much as we can.
“It’s not easy to control the footy for the majority of the day, but we just need to make sure when we’ve got it, we’re not giving it back to them through mistakes and turnovers like we have in the past.”
While the Bulls were expected to have a settled line-up, Sea Lake Nandaly will welcome back former Adelaide and Geelong forward Jenkins and Jack Poulton, after the pair missed the 70-point win over Wedderburn in the final round.
Jenkins will resume his partnership with McInnes, with the pair kicking 82 goals between them this season and posing a genuine threat for opponents.
While many observers will be keen to keep an eye on Jenkins, the match will be decided out of the middle, according to Sea Lake Nandaly co-coach Bryce Delmenico.
“We’re going to need to be at our very best to beat them, we definitely won’t be taking our foot off at any stage,” Delmenico said.
“They’re a quality outfit with some real A-graders and we’ll need to be at our best in the midfield to match it with them.
“It’ll be won and lost in the midfield, especially on Wycheproof’s small ground, I’ll be expecting a lot of the game will be played between the forward-50 arcs.”
The match-up that will have the greatest bearing on the result may well be between this year’s joint Feeny Medal winners Trent Donnan and Nick Rippon, set to square off in the centre.
Birchip-Watchem’s forward line will also take some stopping, with Ben Edwards (84 goals) and Nathan Gordon (39 goals) having the potential to win the match off their own boot.
“It’s going to be a damn good battle because I think both teams are pretty similar across all parts of the ground,” Ryan said.
“We’re confident we have a team that’s capable of kicking a winning score, we just need to get our hands on the ball in the midfield and make the most of our opportunities.”
