CENTRAL MURRAY GRAND FINAL
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
SWAN HILL RECREATION RESERVE
2.43pmKERANG v NNW UNITED
FORECAST – 20 degrees, partly cloudy.
UMPIRES – Brayden Wren, James Downing, Danny Fraser, Liam Edwards
KERANG
COACH – Troy Coates
KEY PLAYERS
Sean Hunter
Claimed his first senior club best-and-fairest award this season after taking his already impressive game to another level.
Can play at either end of the ground, or in the middle, and is the Blues’ ultimate swingman in that he can turn a game just by changing position.
Has blistering speed and loves to take the game on, making him a difficult match-up for any opponent, especially in Kerang’s forward half.
Has 21 goals from 17 games this season, despite spending more time in defence than attack, and will be a player the Demons have to stop if they want to stop the Blues.
Josh Nitschke
The captain and arguably best midfielder in a team stacked full of on-ball talent.
Is a known big-game player, having been best on ground in the Blues’ 2022 premiership win over the Cohuna Kangas, where Nitschke’s final quarter was almost the difference between the two teams.
Has enormous running capacity and is able to run all day through the middle if required, with his gut running the stuff of legend around the Kerang FNC.
Missed the last two games of the home-and-away season with a hamstring strain, but returned to be one of the Blues’ better players in their 19-point second semi-final win over the Eagles.
Brett Kennedy
Has quickly established himself as one of the league’s most dangerous small forwards, having kicked 29 goals from just eight games in navy blue this season.
Can turn a game with a burst of brilliance or a five-minute spell on the ball.
Has kicked 14 goals from his past three games, including a match-winning five-goal haul against the Mallee Eagles in their semi-final victory two weeks ago.
It will be NNW United’s first look at Kennedy, who did not play against them in round 8, with the Demons’ Campbell Everitt looming as the most likely match-up for the enigmatic forward.
SELECTION TABLE
Adam Baird (hamstring – test)
Caleb Nitschke (shoulder – season)
Jack Daglish (shoulder – season)
Kerang are expected to make at least one change, with Adam Baird having fully recovered from his hamstring strain suffered against the Eagles in round 17 and set to return.
If fully fit, Baird is an automatic in, with his experience and class a valuable asset to the Blues’ engine room.
Who the unlucky player to miss out is won’t be known until the completion of training last night, with Samuel Nitschke and Cody Makeham among those at risk.
BURNING QUESTION
Will playing one game in 28 days affect the Blues’ form?
Although there are definite advantages to earning a direct path to the grand final – resting sore and tired bodies being the obvious one – there are also disadvantages to having a lack of game time ahead of the biggest game of the season.
Every club will always take the direct route if given the opportunity, but there’s always trepidation ahead of a grand final for a team coming off a break as to how they will start the match.
The Demons will be hungry and match fit, but will also be sore, which will come into effect late in the game, but the last thing Kerang will want to do is be slow out of the blocks and allow NNW United to build their confidence – and their belief – early on.
NNW UNITED
COACHES – Jason Murphy and Nick O’Neill
KEY PLAYERS
Joel Walsh
Has had an exemplary finals series, having been named among NNW United’s better players in all three finals after missing their last three rounds with a hamstring strain.
Won the Demons’ best-and-fairest award for the second straight year and polled the most votes for his club in this years’ Jack Betts Medal, with the intercept defender a key member of NNW United’s back six.
Has a devastating boot that can slice any opposition team open if given time and space. The Mallee Eagles had no answer for his intercept marking ability in the first half of last Saturday’s preliminary final.
Ethan Saville
Has developed into the Demons’ No.1 onballer and, like Walsh, has had a standout finals series, having been named in the Demons’ best three players in each of their three finals contests.
Is a genuine inside midfielder in every sense of the word, but can also find space and take the ball from the contest with speed and smart ball use.
Will need to be at his best against the dominant inside midfielders of Kerang, with the Demons relying on Saville and company to break even at the contest in order to supply them with enough ball to hurt Kerang on the outside.
Has played all bar two games this season and finished with 11 votes in Sunday’s Jack Betts Medal count.
Alex Erlandson
Has played just nine senior games this season thanks to injury and suspension, but has long been regarded as the Demons’ most versatile player.
Can play any position on the field, but is expected to play predominantly forward and in the ruck, with himself and Blake Larkings applying a tag team job on influential Kerang big man Nick Lang.
At his best, Erlandson is a game-breaker, with his physicality and attack on the ball making him a significant presence around the ground, let alone up forward, where he is also one of the best contested marking players in the Demons line-up.
SELECTION TABLE
Jordan Iudica (hamstring – test)
Brady Davidson (hip flexor – season)
The Demons should go into tomorrow’s grand final with an unchanged line-up, with Jordan Iudica the only Demon under an injury cloud after last Saturday’s 18-point win over the Mallee Eagles.
Iudica was below his usually dynamic best, but with scans returning midweek showing no strain, the onballer should take his place.
If not, the Demons have several options ready to come in to their line-up, including Mitch Grinham, Ben Shadbolt and Nic Threadgold.
BURNING QUESTION
Are the Demons too top heavy up forward?
The Demons have been one of the highest-scoring teams this season, with a mix of tall and small forwards giving them one of the most potent attacks in the Central Murray.
For the first half of the season the Demons went with a two-pronged attack, with Brandyn Grenfell and Nick O’Neill shouldering the key forward load.
The mid-season inclusion of Alex Erlandson has not only given NNW United an extra target, but also an extra dilemma, especially on what is expected to be another windy day.
Although the Demons will stretch Kerang for height, it could also leave them exposed for run from the Blues’ defensive half and, with the likes of Bradlee Pay, Jesse Clark and Sean Hunter at their disposal, the Demons will need all hands on deck to apply pressure when the ball hits the ground.
LAST TIME
Kerang 9.12 (66) d NNW United 8.7 (55)
Riverside Park, Kerang – Round 8
Coming into the match, the Demons remained the only unbeaten team in the Central Murray, with a close first half ending in a one-point lead to the visitors.
NNW United’s outside run and ability to break the lines troubled the Blues in the third quarter, before the reigning premiers hit back with three unanswered goals in the final term to complete an 11-point win.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Tom Hetherington v Joel Walsh
Such is Walsh’s dominance and importance to NNW United’s structure, Kerang almost need to play a defensive forward on the Demons’ No.4.
The challenge with that is they need to find someone capable of negating him in the air, as well as being able to compete at ground level when the ball hits the deck.
Archer Dibsdale is one option, having spent time both forward and back, but could struggle to compete at ground level, while Rylee Gitsham is another who could do the task but he’s been playing predominantly in defence since returning to the team.
Tom Hetherington looms the most likely choice, as a former defender turned forward who can also get high up the ground and create a marking target for the Blues.
Nick Lang v Blake Larkings/Alex Erlandson
Every week we sing the praises of Kerang ruckman Nick Lang and every week he shows us why.
Is unquestionably one of the premier ruckmen in the Central Murray and gives his star-studded engine room silver service at almost every stoppage across the full 120 minutes.
Can push forward and create a strong marking target forward of the footy, but is equally devastating at pushing into defence and sitting in the hole late in games.
The combination of Blake Larkings and Alex Erlandson will have their work cut out for them, however both are underrated, especially Larkings.
If they can limit Lang’s impact on the contest both at the contest and around the ground, the Demons will have taken a giant step towards ending their premiership drought.
Josh Hunter/Lachlan Ross v Brandyn Grenfell
There’s no secret that the Demons will be needing key forward Brandyn Grenfell to have a big impact on the grand final if they are to lift the cup.
That’s not to say that he needs to kick a bag, but for they will need him to have an impact either in the air or bringing the ball to ground for the Demons’ small forwards such as Max Thompson, Ethan Curran and Charlie Boulton if they are to kick a winning score.
Kerang have one of the most organised and disciplined defences in the Central Murray, so you can be sure they will target the Demons big man, with Hunter likely to get the task of stopping him and Ross asked to make sure he isn’t left one-out at any stage.
