by Jim Gordon
WOOMELANG LASCELLES V SEA LAKE NANDALY TIGERS
The last time local rivals Woomelang Lascelles and Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers met the Tigers had a five goal come-from-behind victory over the Cats at Culgoa. With a good win against a determined Walpeup Underbool last week, a shrinking injury list and a group of players who are getting fitter and starting to combine as a playing unit, the Tigers are looking good.
Col Durie is having a great season and gives the Tigers a lot of drive. Nathan Wight has played at both ends of the ground lately and he could pick up the potentially dangerous Cat centre half forward Jayden Lonergan, as he did last time these two sides met.
Versatile Tiger big man Jarrod Alderton can play forward and has kicked goals, Jeremy Weinert is having a very good year on the wing kicking and he is another who can score goals when given the freedom to utilise his evasive skills and ball control.
Mark Deuscher played very well last week in the Tigers win over the Roos kicking seven goals and Taylor Hannig has been solid in defence along with John Guthrie in the back pocket.
For Woomelang Lascelles they receive consistent drive from Rohan Coburn, Jackson Quirk has played well for the club and hopefully Anthony Foote will be available to play as he does a lot of mopping up across half back and is one of the Cats key playmakers.
Woomelang Lascelles will be keen to do well after a win against Walpeup Underbool in the last match they played before the bye. They are certainly a better team this year than last year, but they might just find that the Tigers are a little more hungry for a win as they eye off a place in the four.
BEULAH V HOPETOUN
In many ways this match is a dead rubber. Beulah cannot lose the second chance and Hopetoun could not possibly fall out of the final four. Yet both sides have a lot to gain by putting on a good show, playing to their peak and cementing a victory.
For Beulah they have the chance to knock off a possible preliminary final or grand final foe and for the Devils, they have one last chance before the finals to see if they can really mix it with one of the top two teams.
The ruck duels could be telling. Hopetoun’s Simon Cook has had a good year and with Beulah’s Kim Hallam out and Steph Saunders leaving the ground early last week with an injury, the Devils have the chance to get first use of the ball in the centre.
This centre line battle will be the biggest challenge for the Devils. Gareth Hose is having a great season and is consistently amongst Beulah’s best. Scott Smith and Dale Shannon are tough and hard and win a lot of the contested ball.
For Hopetoun, Chris Heath has been in great form while Tom Pridgeon and Luke Milroy are very capable players. Quentin Wilmott and Ruben Vesikuru are worthy backups and can help out when needed.
Shutting down Beulah’s goal kicking machine David King will be a challenge because even when moved up the field in recent matches, King still scores goals. Dev Mill may get the job there and he would do well to follow Ouyen United‘s Adam O‘Callaghan in staying close to King all day, no matter where he ends up.
Hopetoun’s Nathan Fitzgerald provides plenty of body work in the backline and has settled in well to the side. He could get one of the key tagging roles in an effort to limit Beulah’s goal kicking power.
Beulah has a great defence, but they will have to be on their game to nullify the star studded Devils’ forward line. Kain Robins is in scintillating form while Bryce Wellington and Clint Castleman are capable of kicking a bag of goals.
Beulah did nothing to dent their position as premiership favourites with a very good 62 point win over Hopetoun at Hopetoun on Saturday.
Beulah’s strength, skilful teamwork and polished finishing was the difference between the two sides the last time they met. The Devils will have another big challenge ahead of them this time around against the Blues. They will give it their all, but at Beualh, the Blues should be too strong for the Devils to bounce back after last week’s loss to the Demons.
WALPEUP UNDERBOOL V OUYEN UNITED
Luck hasn’t gone Walpeup Underbool’s way this season. After a good start to the year, it has been down hill since then after the Roos lost several key big name players through injury. Added to the list this week are Jeremy Rowe who cannot seem to shake his chronic hamstring problem and Ross Stone is another who will probably miss.
There is a fierce rivalry that goes back many years between these two clubs, yet they have the greatest respect for each other. Whenever they meet the crowd is always big and we are usually treated to a very willing affair.
Not so the last time they met, it was all one way traffic as Ouyen United tore the Roos apart trouncing them by over twenty goals.
The Demons are the current ladder leaders after carving up the Blues at Beulah last week. They got on top early and never looked back. United lost Bradley Vallance early last week to a shoulder injury and he is a doubtful starter this week. Brenton Jardine filled in well at centre half forward and he may get the same role this week. Brett Knowles should be back for Ouyen United.
United have plenty of depth. The way they are playing at the moment, earning and keeping a spot on the team is making everyone play to their potential. A place lost may not be regained in time for the finals as there are plenty of players in the reserves ready and willing to step up.
United should win this game out of the centre. Craig Deckert has made a huge difference to a midfield that was already one of the best in the league. Glenn Joyce was on fire last week and Peter Caldow is playing his best football for the year.
Jim Wakefield and Chris Lynch will have their work cut out for them in defence with Sonny Lindsey kicking goals, Dom Leach in the pocket and Wayne Grace coming back into form at the right time of the year.
Samuel McDonald has been playing well for the Roos, Matt Brown is relishing the freedom of playing up the ground, Chris Vorwerk, Luke Nathan and Matthew Palmer will work hard all day.
The Ouyen United Demons should be far too talented for an undermanned Walpeup Underbool this time around.
In a significant achievement, Walpeup Underbool's Travis Latta plays his 250th senior game for the Roos this week. Travis' beautiful ball skills, great high marking, his disposal of the ball and speed around the ground have made him one of Walpeup Underbool's all time great players. He has also played for Mallee many times at Inter League level.
Last Modified on 04/08/2011 09:47