BOTH Woorinen and Cohuna are looking forward to the challenge of testing themselves against a fellow premiership contender ahead of their all-important clash Saturday afternoon.
With the two clubs sitting first and second on the ladder, Saturday’s match also presents as a watershed moment in the context of the season and the ramifications for this year’s finals series.
With the Tigers sitting undefeated on top of the ladder, a win would see them move two games clear of their nearest rivals with just six games to play – and almost sew up top spot.
A loss however blows the minor premiership race wide open again, with Cohuna potentially taking top spot by the completion of next round.
It’s an opportunity that’s not lost on Woorinen coach Tim Free, who despite leading his team to nine straight wins to begin the season, knows that Saturday’s match, and potentially win number 10, would be the most important of them all.
“It’s another really important game for us to stamp ourselves upon the competition and given the makeup of the ladder at this stage, it presents an opportunity for us to create some separation,” Free told The Guardian this week.
“It’s not lost on us how important this game is and certainly the quality of our opposition is also well known.
“They have some very experienced and capable players that have played some really good footy and have had decorated careers and are still at the peak of their powers.
“We’ve got the job ahead of us to combat their ball winning ability, particularly through the middle of the ground with (Chris) Anderson and the likes of (Tom) Toma and (Ricky) Monti and with (Jack) Geary providing leadership and stability across half back as well.
“There’s no shortage of danger players that we’ll need to put some plans in place to overcome.”
Although the Kangas midfield is their big weapon, they are expected to be without Joel Helman, who missed last Saturday’s 128-point win over Swan Hill with a calf injury.
Unbelievably, Cohuna have enough midfield depth to cover the loss of Helman, with Toma, Monti, Geary, Jackson Williams, Jarrod Findlay and Sam McGlone all capable of dominating the game out of the middle.
If there is a team capable of matching it with the Kangas out of the centre square however, it’s the Tigers, with Jye Barry and Henry Thompson both starting the season in career best form and Lachlan Warburton, Jose Miliado, Zack Ryan and Taylor Cameron all quality players that have spent time in the midfield rotations.
While the midfield battle is expected to be a crucial contest, Cohuna coach Jack Geary is also aware that it isn’t necessarily Woorinen’s ability to get their hands on the ball first that is likely to impact his teams chances of success.
“We want to try and combat their ability to set up behind the footy because they are a very well organised and structured team,” Geary said.
“We will focus a bit on what that looks like and what our ball movement looks like to potentially combat that.
“They’re pretty well drilled but I’d like to think we have the firepower to take it up to them forward of the ball.
“With a couple of guys out it sort of hurts our depth, but I still think we have the cattle to cover those few outs.
“You always want to get your hands on the ball and get first use of it and I know the game is won and lost in the midfield most weeks, but it could also come down to which team holds up best in defence too.”
While Cohuna’s forward line will be somewhat weakened by the absences of Helman, Daniel Coates and Corbin Anderson, so too will their backline, with Brenton Conforti also set to miss tomorrow’s match with hamstring awareness.
The Tigers will also be below full strength with Tom Langford the home team’s only confirmed out.
With both teams reliant on gaining first use of the ball, the battle between ruckmen Lachlan Gardner (Woorinen) and Chris Anderson (Cohuna) will be a vital one, with Free, like Geary, aware that his team will need to pay close attention across the ground.
“We’ll need to be really diligent with all three lines,” Free said.
“We absolutely need to get our hands on the footy first in the middle of the ground, but having said that, their forwards are still quite dangerous.
“While they don’t necessarily have the household names of some teams, they have a very capable group of goal kickers and they’re not particularly reliant on one or two either.
“That can be beneficial to have multiple options and it’s something we’re working towards also, so we’ll need to shut that down and then hopefully get enough of the footy inside our front half to generate enough scores or enough shots on goal to kick a winning score.”
Woorinen’s plethora of attacking options could prove to be the difference between the two teams in fact, with Matt Perry (28 goals), Doug Beames (20 goals), Jose Miliado (17 goals) and William Collicoat (16 goals) all proving to be more than capable of hurting opposition teams on the scoreboard. Tip – Woorinen to win by five points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Matt Perry v William Lee
There will be key match-up’s right across the field, but this one will be one to watch.
Perry has proven himself to be one of the recruits of the season for the Tigers, with the tall full-forward booting 28 goals for the season and sitting just three behind the Mallee Eagles Darcy Hourigan as the leading goalkicker in the Central Murray this season.
It’s not just Perry’s ability to hit the scoreboard that makes him a threat, but also his ability to bring his teammates into the game by rarely being beaten in the air and often getting the ball to ground and allowing his smalls to do their work.
Lee on the other hand is one of the Central Murray’s best key defenders and he himself rarely gets beaten – with the Kangas needing their full-back to be at his best on Saturday if they are any chance of handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How do the Kangas kick a winning score?
Statistically, Cohuna are the number one ranked offence in the Central Murray this season, with the Kangas averaging more than 119 points per game this season – the most of any team.
They have also achieved this standing with a good spread of goalkickers, with six players booting 10 goals or more from their eight matches this season.
Unfortunately, three of those six players won’t be out there on Saturday, with Corbin Anderson (17 goals), Joel Helman (16 goals) and Daniel Coates (11 goals) all injured.
With Jude Palmer now standing as the Kangas lone key forward, the pressure will be on Tom Toma (18 goals) and Jacob Mitchell (17 goals) to produce multiple goals in order to give their team a shot at booting a winning score.
See also: Central Murray Round 10 Football Previews
See also: Four of the best for Hourigan
