ALL eyes will be on the Woorinen Recreation Reserve on Saturday afternoon when the Central Murray home-and-away season comes to a dramatic close.
Despite sitting outside the top five for much of the season, Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s dramatic six-point win over Koondrook-Barham last weekend sees the Saints sitting in the box seat to be the team to meet NNW United in next Sunday’s elimination final.
The challenge that lies in front of Brad Morris and his playing group is that they will need to beat ladder leaders Woorinen – the team who deserve to be premiership favourites based on the previous 17 weeks of football.
If the Saints slip against the Tigers, it will once again open the door for the Raiders to leapfrog their way into the top five, with Koondrook-Barham needing to beat Swan Hill by a margin of roughly 140 points to make up the difference in percentage.
It all bodes well for an exciting climax to the season for the neutral observers, but for Tooleybuc-Manangatang coach Brad Morris, it will be anything but.
“It will be an anxious day, but we can’t be reliant on the other game or worry about what’s happening at Barham,” Morris told The Guardian this week.
“We just need to go out there and be as close as we can at the end of the day and see if we can get the job done.
“That will be the task, to go out there and have a massive showing against one of the best teams, which has been a bit of an issue for us at times this season.
“Our footy has been dictated by our opposition a little bit and our balance of output has been a bit up and down throughout the first half of the year, but over the past six weeks we knew we just had to keep winning and that’s what we’ve done.
“It doesn’t matter how we get there, if can get the job done tomorrow it would be huge for our club.”
While their season will go on the line for the Saints, it will be equally important for the Tigers to claim their 15th win of the season, with Cohuna ready to pounce on top spot if an upset appears to be on the cards.
With the minor premier earning the right to a well-earned rest in the first weekend of the finals, Saturday will be no time to relax according to Woorinen coach Tim Free.
“There’s no doubt a lot of the external talk will be about what’s at stake for them (Tooleybuc-Manangatang) but we’re certainly well aware of the importance of Saturday’s game and what’s at stake for us as well,” Free said.
“They have found form and they have been playing some pretty good footy over the last month and they have most of their better players in good form now.
“It presents as a really good test for us leading into the finals series, we have our sights set on finishing on top of the ladder and we haven’t entertained the prospect of anything else.
“But with that said, we’ll need to be at our best to make sure we get the job done.”
Kyle Skene will come into the Tigers line-up for the all-important clash, while Tooleybuc-Manangatang will welcome Josh Koster back to the team after missing the past two matches.
While Connor McDonald looms as a key player to the outcome for both teams, Free is also fully aware of the need to limit the impact of several of the Saints’ ball winners, especially forward of the ball.
“We’ll need to be really strong in the midfield, especially with Conor McDonald having another standout year, but we’ll also need to be limit the impact of their forward line too,” Free said.
“Ethan Johnstone and Connor Nutting will be two guys we will have to watch closely.
“His (Johnstone) first game this year was against us earlier this year and he slipped in seamlessly and played a really important role for them first up.
“He’s only improved since then so we’ll be looking to minimize his impact on the game.
“They have a bit of a hybrid forward line and we’ll need to make sure we get the right match ups for those two guys in particular.
“Woorinen is a smaller ground too so we’ll need to apply plenty of pressure and try and play and have the game played in our front half, which will be the best way to limit their impact.”
Among the other players to watch for the Saints will be Elliott Chalmers, Sebastian Rogers and Blake Grant in the midfield, with Josh Williams also set to play a key role as an intercept defender across half back.
Woorinen also have plenty of talent on every line, with a well organised defence, talented midfield and potent forward line that don’t need many opportunities to hurt opposition teams on the scoreboard.
“The way they (Woorinen) move the ball fast and out the front is a credit to how well they’re coached and how well their group has responded,” Morris said.
“We will be trying to restrict that front forward handball and that quick movement out the front of the contest that they do so well.
“They take off on each line because they know they have cover and potential wherever they move the ball and they clearly have that confidence in each other that they will be supported when they do.”
Tip – Woorinen to win by 20 points.
KEY MATCH-UP
Lachlan Gardner v Connor Mcdonald
THERE’S little doubt that Mcdonald is the barometer for the Saints and if they are to get the job done on Saturday, the joint reigning Jack Betts Medallist will need to play out of his skin.
Although Mcdonald has been one of, if not the, most in-form ruckmen in the Central Murray this season, Woorinen’s Gardner generally saves his best for the big games and will be equally important to his team’s chances of success over the next month.
It was a hard-fought contest between both ruckmen back in round 7 when the two clubs last clashed, with the points evenly split between the pair.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How does Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s defence prevent Woorinen from kicking a winning score?
WHETHER the Saints win Saturday or not, the one thing they cannot do is allow themselves to get blown out of the water, especially with Koondrook-Barham needing to close a margin of roughly 140 points in order to take their place in fifth spot.
The challenge for Tooleybuc-Manangatang will be in quelling the numerous goal kicking options the Tigers have, with Matt Perry (37 goals), Doug Beames (29 goals), William Collicoat (29 goals), Jose Miliado (27 goals) and Kyle Skene (23 goals) all capable of getting off the chain up forward.
While it has proven almost impossible for most teams to blanket every one of Woorinen’s forward options this season, it might have to come down to supply and demand for Tooleybuc-Manangatang, with their midfield needing to limit the likes of Jye Barry and Henry Thompson further up the field in order to starve the Tigers forwards.
