COHUNA
COACH – Jack Geary
KEY PLAYER
Tom Toma
Is one of the raging favourites to win this year’s Jack Betts Medal and with good reason, given his body of work over the course of the season.
Has long been one of the Central Murray’s most damaging onballers, with his ability to win the ball on the inside and at the contest, but then spread from stoppage and hit up targets inside 50.
While Toma is still the player most teams need to stop out of the centre square, he has also added the ability to hit the scoreboard when resting forward to his bow, having kicked 42 goals from his 15 games this season.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How badly does Cohuna’s injury crisis hurt them?
There’s little doubt that the Kangas have the most talented midfield in the Central Murray – the only problem is half of them are sitting on the sidelines.
Joel Helman and Jack Geary are both done for the season, with Jackson Williams also set to miss Saturday’s match with a hamstring complaint.
The trio’s absence will leave a lot to fall onto the shoulders of Tom Toma and Ricky Monti, who have both had sensational seasons, but the challenge will be who else runs through the middle in the second and third wave for the Kangas and can they be as affective as their absent superstars.
MALLEE EAGLES
COACHES – Harry Allen and Brent Macleod
KEY PLAYER
Brent Macleod
If ever there was a player built to play finals, it’s Macleod.
Is a bull around the stoppages, uses it cleanly and finds plenty of the ball on transition and pushes forward to hit the scoreboard when his team needs him most.
Appeared destined to lead the Eagles to a famous finals victory against Kerang in last year’s second semi-final before a second quarter injury ended his game – and the Eagles shot at a grand final.
Will be desperate to right those wrongs, starting Saturday.
THE BURNING QUESTION
How will the Eagles nullify the influence of Chris Anderson?
Chris Anderson has quickly become one of Cohuna’s most important players, with a career best season helping guide the Kangas to a second-place finish.
Anderson monstered Cameron Cook and Jacob O’Meara back in round 16 and was one of Cohuna’s best on the ground.
While the Kangas big man dominated that afternoon, the Eagles’ ruck division will be a much different proposition this time around, with Jacob O’Meara fully fit, having spent the majority of the game on the bench after receiving a corked thigh in the first quarter and with Zac O’Meara back in the side having recovered from a calf strain.
While Zac has played most of the season across half back, he also showed how effective he can be in the ruck before his injury and can be expected to return to the role against Anderson on Saturday.
KEY MATCH-UP
William Lee v Darcy Hourigan
With 65 goals from 114 matches, Darcy Hourigan has troubled most teams in the Central Murray this season.
His presence in the Eagles’ forward line makes him not only a player to watch for spectators, but one of the key cogs in Mallee’s forward line with his ability to find the ball both in the air and at ground level.
The one team he hasn’t been able to get hold of is Cohuna, with full-back William Lee a key factor in the Kangas’ ability to nullify the Eagles spearhead.
Lee’s record against Hourigan is an impressive one, having conceded just three goals in three matches, including a goalless effort back in round 14 last season – the last time Hourigan went goalless in a match.
MATCH PREVIEW
THE Mallee Eagles will be close to full strength for Saturday’s qualifying final against Cohuna, with four key players set to return for the Eagles.
Brent Macleod, Beau Bennett, Isaiah Bull and Zac O’Meara all missed last Saturday’s 49-point win over Tyntynder, with O’Meara set to return for his first match since straining his calf against Swan Hill in round 15.
Darcy McGregor will be one of the few key Eagles that will be missing from their line-up, with the onballer likely to be available for next weekend’s semi-finals.
While Mallee will be close to full strength, the same cannot be said for Cohuna, who will be without several ball winners including Jackson Williams, Daniel Coates, Jack Geary and Joel Helman, with Geary and Helman done for the season.
Their absences will stretch the Kangas in the middle against the Eagles, who will have the likes of Harry Allen, Macleod, Matt Rankine, Brett Thomas and Shaun Harrison rotating through the centre square.
Although the Eagles are expected to have better depth through the centre than Cohuna on Saturday, that is of little comfort for Mallee co-coach Harry Allen, who told The Guardian the Kangas still have the capacity to hurt his team around the stoppages.
“Their midfielders, as much as we think we’re good at winning the footy around the contest, they’ve still got Tom (Toma) who can clearly win his own footy and Ricky Monti who can cut you apart just as easily,” Allen said this week.
“On the flip side, if our pressure’s off then they’re going to hurt us on the outside more than other sides.
“Despite losing to them at Cohuna a couple of weeks ago, I thought we did pretty well to get within four points of them over there because there’s not too many teams that do that.
“Being at Woorinen probably suits us a little bit more because we play on a smaller deck a bit more than what they do.
“So if we can try and control the inside game and then work the ball to our runners then we’ll give ourselves every opportunity.”
There is little doubt that the Eagles’ big strength comes from their ability to get their hands on the ball around the stoppages and at the contest, which will be aided by the smaller dimensions of the Woorinen Rec Reserve.
Although the Kangas may not be able to spread Mallee as wide on defence as they did back in round 16, they will be sticking to their tried-and-true game plan according to Cohuna coach Jack Geary.
“I think we’ll play a similar style even though it’s a different sized ground,” Geary said.
“We got a few match-ups right last time and there’s a few match-ups that we can tinker with as well.
“They (Mallee Eagles) have good depth and a good list, but they also have six or eight prime movers that we’ll put a little bit of time into and see if we can’t curb their influence on the contest and limit the impact of some of them.
“With a smaller ground it might make it a little bit harder to spread and open them up and make them defend a bit wider than they’d like to.
“We want to get the ball moving and not just dump kick to their half backs that set up really well and rebound really well.
“We’ve spoken about guys like (Harry) McGregor, and making sure he doesn’t run off half back and through their defensive 50, because if he does then he’ll be putting it deep inside their forward 50.”
The run the Eagles generate off half-back through the likes of Isaiah Bull, Clinton Cummins, Matthew Despott and McGregor is one of the key features of Mallee’s ball movement this season.
It’s that attacking flair which so often sees them generate quality inside 50 entries, especially through their ability to switch the play with speed and precision.
The best way for Cohuna to keep the Eagles’ running defenders quiet is to keep them accountable, which is where the likes of Corbin Anderson, Jacob Mitchell and Jude Palmer will be so important with their ability to get dangerous up forward.
Anderson has that x-factor and flair, which the Eagles had no answer for three weeks ago.
At the other end of the ground, Darcy Hourigan, Andrew Mead-Harding, Matt Rankine and Shaun Harrison are equally dangerous and will take some stopping.
Although four-points favoured the Kangas just three rounds ago, this time it might be Eagles turn to be singing come 5pm Saturday.
Tip – Mallee Eagles to win by five points.
