MOULAMEIN will go into their must-win encounter against Murrabit this weekend as one of the Golden Rivers form teams, but also a team under pressure following a spate of injuries to key players.
Key players Will Doquile (hamstring), Andrew Courtney (ankle) and Adam Saunders (knee) will join several teammates, including Josh Wills (hamstring) and Cody Storm on the side lines tomorrow, with the Swans needing to stretch their winning streak to three in order to leapfrog into the top four for the first time this season.
That will be easier said than done however, with the Blues having defeated Moulamein by 15 points back in round 4.
The Swans currently find themselves a game behind both Murrabit (third) and Wandella (fourth) in fifth on the ladder, with a Moulamein win set to potentially leave all three teams locked on four wins apiece and in a battle to claim that final two spots in this year’s finals series.
It’s an occasion not lost on Murrabit coach Jack Shannahan, with his team coming into the must-win match having defeated the Bombers by 20 points last Saturday.
“It’s a massive game, as the game last weekend was too, they just keep getting bigger and bigger as the weeks go by but tomorrow will be tougher again as Moulamein are probably the in-form team at the moment,” Shannahan told The Guardian this week.
“We thought they (Moulamein) were going to be a tough team this year and they’re obviously starting to starting to gel over the last couple of weeks, but we feel like we are too.
“The consequences in terms of the season will be huge; it’s one of those big eight-point games but importantly for us, if we get the win it will give us a bit of breathing space.
“It’s only halfway through the season, but I feel like these games mean so much already for the back end of the year.”
Murrabit will go into the match with a largely unchanged squad, with Logan McKinnon, Austin McKerrow, Bailey Pengelly and Bryden Morison among the Blues’ key players after strong starts to their seasons.
That quartet will have been identified as key players by the Swans, who know they will have to compete with the Blues if they are to win the four points according to co-coach Brodie Tonkin.
“They (Murrabit) are pretty high pressure, contested team,” Tonkin said.
“They’re really good at turning the game into a scrap and making you play a contested game, so we’ll need to be really careful with not overusing the football and inviting their pressure.
“The other focus for us, as it has been over the last couple of weeks, will be on our forward 50 entries.
“They’ve certainly gotten better over the past fortnight, which is probably why we were fortunate enough to get a good win on the weekend and come away with a win against Ultima as well.
“It’s still an area of our game where we can continue to try and improve on, but we’ve certainly been better in recent weeks.”
The midfield looms as the key battleground tomorrow, with the Blues’ ability to win the contested ball and get the ball forward from stoppage set to clash with that of Moulamein’s strong clearance game, with Blake Launer and Tonkin continuing to develop their partnership with with dominant Swans ruckman Heath Moloney.
“Their (Moulamein’s) clearance work has gone to a new level the last couple of weeks,” Shannahan said.
“Their midfield is really strong, but it’s an area of our game where I feel like we’re improving as well.
“I know it’s one of those cliches that the game is going to be won out of the middle, but I think that’s going to be the case this week especially.”
This weekend will also see reigning premiers Ultima head south to Tigerland to take on Macorna, while Wandella will travel north to Hay to play the Lions.
