AFTER disappointing losses last round, both Woorinen and Nyah-Nyah West United will be looking to bounce back hard when they meet at Tigerland this Saturday afternoon.
It will be an unknown feeling for the Tigers, who suffered their first loss of the season against the Mallee Eagles last Saturday and can ill-afford to repeat that performance with little margin for error now in the race for top spot.
The Demons are in a fight of their own following their 34-point loss to Cohuna last weekend, with a loss on Saturday almost certainly consigning them to an elimination final path through this year’s finals series.
Joel Walsh, Corey Daniels, Charlie Boulton and Ethan Saville are all among NNW United’s key players and missed last weekend with injury and are expected to be absent against the Tigers.
To make matters worse, the Demons will also be without attacking half back Jaydyn Stirling (groin) and former coach Nick O’Neill for Saturday’s clash, as the clubs injury crisis worsens at the wrong time of the season.
Although his team is set to go in well below full strength, NNW United co-coach Jason Murphy is still looking forward to the challenge of matching it with one of the premiership favourites.
“They (Woorinen) have been the front runners all season and everyone’s still chasing them at the moment regardless of last weekend,” Murphy told The Guardian this week.
“The way they’ve come out this season is a real credit to Tim (Free) and everyone involved.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge and there’s no bigger challenge than heading to Woorinen and trying to beat them on their own home deck at the moment.
“It’s exciting for us to head there and we’re expecting a good physical game on a small ground and keeping it in close.
“It’s going to be wet and we tend to play the wet weather pretty well, the finals series last year was pretty interesting weather at times and we seemed to be able to get through that.
“The conditions are going to make it a bit more of an even contest which is going to be important considering the few outs we have.”
With wet conditions anticipated over the weekend, both Woorinen and NNW United already have a reference point from this season, with a torrential downpour significantly impacting the two clubs’ round 3 match under lights earlier this season.
The Tigers walked away 21 points to the good of the Demons on that occasion, with their ability to win the contested ball and force it forward, along with the impact of small forwards Will Collicoat and Daniel Mase who each kicked two goals proving to be the difference.
The other big factor was the performance of Lachlan Gardner, who proved unstoppable in the ruck in the absence of NNW United premiership ruckman Blake Larkings through injury.
Larkings has since returned and should provide Gardner with a much sterner test, with Murphy fully aware of the impact the conditions could once again have on his team.
“That night they (Woorinen) did the simple things a lot better than we did, especially in the second half and that’s something that we’ve sort of touched on this week,” Murphy said.
“It’s about being a little bit more simple with our ball use and a little more direct in the wet weather.
“It’s something we’ve been covering this week at training and the boys are pretty switched on about it after playing that game in round 3, which we will use as a starting point to figure out how we want to go about it.
“It’s going to be a contested, meters gained, type of game in the wet.
“We don’t want to let them come out the front of the contest, that’s something that we’ve really focused on and making sure we keep it in close and get the ball going our way.
“It’s not great for the spectators, but as a coach you love these games to challenge the boys and see who wants to put their head over it and get it going our way.”
With it unlikely to be a day out for forwards on either side, the result is likely to come not only from the team which maximises their opportunities going forward, but also who holds up strong in defence.
Joel Campbell, Nash Richman and Zack Threadgold form the nucleus of NNW United’s back half and should be suited by the conditions, while Woorinen’s well organised defence will again be led by Matthew Gardner, Ben Booth, Taylor Cameron and both Blake and Kane Reid.
With a heavily contested battle and plenty of history across recent encounters involving both clubs, another tight encounter can be expected, albeit one where the Tigers will start as favourites.
Tip – Woorinen to win by 10 points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Lachlan Gardner v Blake Larkings
IT was a dominant performance from Woorinen ruckman Lachlan Gardner that helped get the Tigers over the line when these two teams last met back in round 3.
Not only did Gardner control play around the stoppages with his size and commanding tap work, but he also provided a strong target in the inclement conditions that evening.
The difference this time around is that NNW United will have their number one ruckman back on the field, with the underrated Larkings beginning to find form in recent weeks.
With wet weather again expected to impact Saturday’s match, there should be plenty of stoppages for both big men to get involved in, with the forward territory battle from stoppage set to play a key role in deciding who comes out on top.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How will NNW United’s run and carry game handle the wet weather?
THE Demons are well known as a team who like to take the game on and move the ball with speed on the outside – it’s one of the key elements that drove them to last year’s title after all.
But they were found wanting back when the rain came against the Tigers earlier this season and with wet weather again predicted, will find it difficult to move the ball by hand and break the lines in those conditions.
NNW United co-coach Jason Murphy has already indicated a return to a more simplified game plan for Saturday’s match, with the Demons to follow Woorinen’s lead and work the ball forward in any way possible as they did in round 3.
NNW United won’t be the on their own with the rain affecting their ball movement, with the Tigers also needing to adjust their game plan of short passing out of defence by foot.
