EDFL round 4 preview

By Ken Moore
BUNYIP travels to Nyora for the most intriguing match of the round. The Saints have swept all before them in the opening three rounds but, given a dry day, Bunyip is not without a chance. Nyora is not an overly tall team and Bunyip has talls Shane Mumford, Ryan Ablett and Aaron Jones to exploit this deficiency. Captain and terrier Andrew Hobday will return to the Bulldogs’ lineup. If the Bunyip onball division can break even with its Saint counterparts it will be in this game for along time. On its home ground Nyora should be a little too strong but Bunyip has plenty of class and the capacity to improve and may give the Saints a big scare.
Lang Lang has disappointed in the early rounds and its assignment this week does not get any easier when it meets Cora Lynn. It is likely to bring back both Andrew Dowson and Dean Brown to add a bit more run through the midfield. The Tigers have been slow starters this season and will have to overcome this trait, otherwise the visitors could have the game well in their keeping by halftime. The Cobras are on a high, in fact all five teams won last week and with Ben Airdrie, Shannon Toner and Lee Dowsett all staking a claim for senior selection after missing the last game they now have plenty of depth. Jeremy Duiker left the ground in the second quarter last week with a shoulder injury and must be very doubtful, however Cora Lynn will win comfortably.
As the form book suggests, Longwarry should be far too good on its home ground for Buln Buln. The Crows have yet to be tested this season and this is likely to be their hardest game so far as Buln Buln match up well. Both teams have a similar structure with one key forward, Browney for Longwarry, Gooden for Buln Buln, and a heavy dependence on a midfield running brigade. With Browney in good nick, the Crows should notch their fourth consecutive victory.
After getting flogged by Longwarry by more than 100 points in round one, Steve Pursell’s Warragul Industrials have bounced back well with convincing wins over Poowong and Buln Buln to suggest the Dusties may well be topsix candidates. This week they welcome Kooweerup to Western Park. The Demons have an injury cloud over Rod Hoober, Josh Evans and Luke Hamilton and all three will miss this round if not many weeks to come. Powerhouse ruckman Adam Biszko failed a fitness test last week but should be right this Saturday. The Demons have not put a foot wrong, aside from taking it off the pedal when well in control in opening rounds and with the form and class of Peter Doll, Scott Morrison and Rhys Morgan it will remain undefeated.
Ellinbank will host Poowong. Both teams put in below par efforts last week and this will be a close match. Jason Hill is likely to return this week and his presence up forward should free up both Bill Harvey and Jason Harwood. With this superior firepower Ellinbank should just get across the line. If the Bankers can hold key Magpie forward Luke James to less than a handful of goals it should win.
NeerimNeerim South has been a little too far off the pace in the opening three weeks and it would take a dramatic form reversal for it to upset Catani. The Cats will have home advantage but appear two or three quality midfielders short of the top sides. The Blues’ midfield will be strengthened with the return of Michael and Andrew Stockx and Paul Whiffin and they will be far too good for the determined but undermanned Cats.
On Sunday NilmaDarnum will play its 1000th game in the EDFL. Unfortunately the Bombers are staring down a big hole and it is hard to see them being competitive for four quarters against Nar Nar Goon, a team full of youngsters on the rise that has put in three respectable showings. NilmaDarnum’s bleak percentage sums up its present state. Many of the Goon youngsters should taste senior victory for the first time.