MURRABIT’S shock loss to Macorna last Saturday has thrown the Golden Rivers finals race wide open once again, with the Blues now facing an early elimination final against Wandella tomorrow according to coach Jack Shannahan.
With just three rounds remaining, percentage is all that separates Murrabit, Wandella and fifth placed Moulamein in the battle for third and fourth.
With the Swans starting favourite against Macorna tomorrow, that leaves both Murrabit and Wandella in the hot seat, with the loser likely to find themselves dropping out of the four come tomorrow evening.
It’s a position that Murrabit coach Shannahan is desperate to avoid, with the Blues still to play Moulamein and Ultima over the final two rounds.
“The next three weeks are effectively elimination finals for us,” Shannahan told The Guardian this week.
“We treated last weekend as a bit of a final and that didn’t go our way, but while you’re still in the hunt you’re going to give it everything and given that Wandella are in the same position as us, it’s going to be a pretty fierce contest I think.
“Both games (against Wandella) this year have been pretty tight contests, I think they got us by 15 points the first time and then we beat them by a similar margin the next time around.
“Both games have been really even for the majority and it’s been a 10 minute patch from either team that’s been the difference both times.
“This week will be no different, it’s probably going to be the team that wrestles the momentum for that 10 minute period and puts the scoreboard pressure on that probably ends up getting the win and hopefully that’s us.”
The Blues will welcome Ben Derbas and Ethan Slater back to their line-up, while Ben Gillingham is also a chance to resume pending an overnight fitness test.
Wandella on the other hand will lose key ball winner Nathan Boysen to a hamstring strain.
The loss of Boysen couldn’t come at a worse time, with the midfielder among the Bombers’ better players in both games against the Blues this season.
Despite Murrabit’s loss to Macorna last Saturday, Wandella coach Justin Robinson won’t be taking any chances tomorrow, with the Bombers fully aware of the threat the Blues’ onball brigade pose.
“They (Murrabit) have some really dangerous players like (James) Stewart, (Bryden) Morison, (Bailey) Pengelly, a few of their recruits from this year, those guys are dangerous around the ball,” Robinson said.
“For us, you can’t kick goals if it’s not in your forward line and our forwards have been screaming out for us to get the ball in there so we get an opportunity to hit the scoreboard.
“If we get good delivery, we see our forward line as being a bit of a strength.
“We’ve really only had one game this year against Macorna where we’ve actually kicked more goals than behinds and had really good delivery, so we need to be better in that area of the ground.
“We really do need to win, we knew we had a tough ask to knock off Ultima last weekend but Macorna did us a favour and now we’re all back on level pegging and we have a chance to jump above Murrabit.
“We just have to make the most of that chance now.”
While the Blues and Bombers are set to battle it out for a spot in the top four, there will also be a lot of attention placed on the top of the ladder clash between Hay and Ultima, with the Lions looking to atone for their shock loss to the Roos in round 8.
Ultima remain the only team to have defeated Hay this season and although the Lions appear destined to finish as the minor premiers, there will still be plenty to play for ahead of a the two clubs meeting in this year’s second semi-final.
The final match of the round will be at Moulamein, where the Swans will host Macorna fresh off their first win of the season.
While finals might be out of the equation for the Tigers, the yellow and black army appear determined to shape this year’s finals series in the run towards the final game of the season.
