THE midfield is where Saturday’s match between Nyah-Nyah West United and Koondrook-Barham is expected to be won, according to Raiders coach Marcus Demaria.
Although a top three finish appears out of reach now for both the Demons and Raiders, there will still be plenty to play for when the two clubs clash, with the loser expected to fight it out with Tooleybuc-Manangatang for fifth spot over the coming weeks.
In what is now viewed as a likely elimination final preview and with finals just around the corner, Demaria is looking for a big effort from his engine room, especially in the absence of injured midfielders Benji Neal and Ethan Reeves.
“I think the key is the midfield battle is going to be important for us and it’s where we got on top last time we played them (in round 2),” the Koondrook-Barham coach told The Guardian this week.
“We have to make sure that we get on top around the stoppages.
“We’d like to try and throw some of our bigger bodies in there, but if we’re missing Benji (Neal) and missing Ethan (Reeves), a lot of workload is going to come down to Lee Dale, ‘Bilts’ (Matt Bilton) and Pat Goble, who will all go through there.
“I think we just have to be aggressive on the inside and negate some of their prime movers, we will need to get to work inside the contest.”
It was out of the centre where Koondrook-Barham were able to stun the reigning premiers back in round 2, with the Raiders jumping away to a 44-point lead mid-way through the final quarter before the Demons booted six consecutive goals in the final quarter.
While Koondrook-Barham were able to hold on and recorded a shock nine-point win that afternoon, the road map was also laid out for the Demons late, according to co-coach Jason Murphy, who are expected to come out all guns blazing from the opening minutes.
“With all respect to Koondrook-Barham, they beat the pants off us that day,” Murphy said.
“We were probably lucky to get as close as we did late in the game to be fair and we got our run and carry game going late and it showed us that speed is probably the way to go against them.
“We’ll take that out of that afternoon in that we want to get our running game going against them as they have some bigger bodies and we want to see if they can keep up with us.
“Their midfield is really strong and their clearance work is really good and that’s where they got us early in the year.
“Benji Neil, Lee Dale and those guys really got the ball going their way and it’s an area that we’re really working hard at getting better at for later on in the year.
“Every team in the finals has a strong midfield, so we have to challenge our boys to step up a little bit more and get some more territory going our way.”
Neal was instrumental for Koondrook-Barham back in round 2, but won’t be this time around as he nurses a knee injury.
Harry Bremner and Ryan Bassett are also expected to miss the must-win clash with Bendigo Pioneers duties, while Isaac Corvo (neck) and Roy George (VFL) are also in doubt.
The news isn’t all bad for Koondrook-Barham however, with Lee Dale, Matt Bilton and Nick Frankling all expected to return after missing the Raiders 44-point win over Kerang a fortnight ago.
NNW United are also expected to make some changes to their side that succumbed to Woorinen last Saturday, with forwards Charlie Boulton and Nick O’Neill, along with utility Dean Harrop likely to return.
Although a lot of water has gone under the bridge since the last time the two clubs met, Demaria is still hopeful the lessons learned that day for his young side have stuck, along with the confidence that they can take it right up to the reigning premiers.
“Getting that win early on, that was huge for our group as we were playing some good footy back then,” Demaria said.
“I guess there’s been quite a few changes to the team since then and probably the stop start nature to the season probably hasn’t helped us get any sort of continuity.
“I felt like we started off the season with a bit of momentum, but it’s just been halted with a few injuries and a few weeks off and that.
“That win back in round 2 should give us a bit of confidence though and we’re looking forward to the contest.
“The key for us is to try and slow their (NNW United) ball movement as much as we can and make sure that we’re spot on with our defensive structures behind the footy.
“They have some key footballers with (Patrick) Veszpremi up forward, Jordan (Iudica) in the middle as well as ‘Bomber’ (Dom Gallo).
“We’re just looking forward to the contest and we need to keep winning, as do they and although we’ll be missing some key personnel, we just need to hit the ground running.”
While the midfield is where both teams agree Saturday’s match is likely to be won or lost, the Demons potentially hold the edge at either end of the ground, with Nash Richman (defence) and Patrick Veszpremi (attack) both becoming key mid-season additions for the reigning premiers.
Tip – NNW United to win by 12 points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Blake Larkings v Jacob Barrington
With both the Demons and Raider coaching hierarchies placing a premium on the midfield battle Saturday, it stands to reason that the two men expected to feed their onballers at the stoppages will both have key roles to play.
After a couple of injury interrupted seasons in recent years, Jacob Barrington has returned in 2025 and had a significant impact for Koondrook-Barham.
Barrington is an underrated piece of the Raiders puzzle and rarely allows his opponent to tap to advantage, which is a similar attribute of the Demons Blake Larkings.
Although Larkings had his colours lowered against Lachlan Gardner last week, expect the NNW United big man to fight back ahead of what shapes as an intriguing one-on-one battle.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How big an impact will Joel Walsh’s absence have on the result?
There’s little doubt that Joel Walsh is the most important player for the reigning premiers, with the Demons having lost of their past three games in his absence.
Walsh’s ability to not only organise the Demons defence, but also intercept and rebound has been sorely missed in recent weeks and while a return from injury appears imminent, he is likely to spend at least one more week on the side lines.
While Nash Richman, Joel Campbell and Zack Threadgold have held down the fort, the fact that eight of the Raiders 12 goals back in round 2 came from their key forwards (Kye Attwell, Ryan Bassett and Kyall Parker) would be a concern for the Demons.
And that was with Walsh in the team.
