By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 20 WEST DIVISION
KOOWEERUP v GARFIELD
BOTH sides are finals-bound and both sides know who they’ll be playing in week one. On paper, at least, Round 20 doesn’t offer a lot of incentive for the Demons or Stars to come out with all guns blazing this week at Denhams Road, right?
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Matt Shorey’s men have stitched up second spot and know they’re headed for a semi-final date with destiny against the Cobras but the Demons player-coach was quick to add: “We’ve still got two rounds left – starting with Garfield.
“It’s always a big game every time we face them – I know it definitely is for me, on a personal level.”
Of all of the top four sides – the Cobras, the Demons, the Goon and the Stars – Garfield clearly has the most impressive big-game track record and finals résumé. The reigning premiers have lost a host of players from last year’s decider, but they’ve also added plenty of talent, and are spurred on by a real desire to prove themselves all over again. That spells danger, and Shorey knows it.
“They’re a side we have to be careful of – they’re my smoky to be honest,” Shorey told the Gazette in the lead-up to this week’s battle.
“There’s a lot of respect between our side and theirs and we want to win this week – there’s no doubt about that.
“I want a big scalp going into the finals.”
The mental side of this Saturday’s game – the clear standout fixture of Round 20 – is simply fascinating. A win for the Demons would build on top of what is already a freight train of momentum – they haven’t lost since 7 June. But a loss could throw a spanner in the works, while adding more self-belief to the boys from Beswick Street.
Keep an eye out for the potential return to the Stars line-up of Ned and Tom Marsh this week as they look to get into a groove in time for the finals. Shorey is unlikely to risk a recurrence of his lower leg injury by returning this week but both sides should be at near full-strength for this one. Kooweerup at home by 14 points.
BUNYIP v NAR NAR GOON
AGAIN, we know Goldsworthy’s men are locked into a finals’ spot – two games and a stack of percentage ahead the fifth-placed Bunyip – but this week looms as somewhat of a danger game.
The Bulldogs fought out a win over the Tigers at the showgrounds – never an easy feat – and welcomed back one their best players, Michael Whyte, in the process.
The Goon, on the other hand, will be frustrated after their loss to the Demons on the club’s life members and sponsors day at Spencer Street and they’ll enter this week’s game without the in-form Mat Slattery who will serve a one-match ban for his role in the fiery Kooweerup contest.
The Goon should still have too many weapons for Brad Walker’s boys to handle, but no Bunyip side ever goes down without a fight. Nar Nar Goon by three goals.
CORA LYNN v CATANI
On face value, things don’t look pretty for the Blues this week. The last time they faced the league-leading Cobras – in Round 13 – they went down by 89 points.
But Catani has shown plenty since and has been super brave all year, really. The Blues took the fight right up to Lang Lang in Round 15 and again to Garfield in Round 18 and, by principle, Josh Tymensen refuses to throw large numbers behind the ball just to limit the damage on the scoreboard.
That’s where things could get interesting on Saturday – the Blues could lose by plenty, but they won’t die wondering. Tymensen knows his young charges won’t learn anything by meekly flooding the backline in the hope of only losing by six or seven goals, and it’s no secret how much Cobras coach Travis Marsham respects that approach.
The Blues are trying to build something. It will likely take a while but they’re going the right way about it. With a backs-to-the-wall scenario in front of them this week, they’ll look to come out firing early. It’s just that when it comes to firepower for the time-being, they don’t have enough. Even if the Cobras remain ultra-cautious in waiting another week to bring back the likes of Horaczko and Muratore, they should still win by 50.
ROUND 20 TIPS
KOOWEERUP v Garfield
Bunyip v NAR NAR GOON
CORA LYNN v Catani
Lang Lang – bye
