by Jim Gordon
OUYEN UNITED V BEULAH
There is a lot to be gained and a lot to be lost in this 2nd semi final encounter at Hopetoun between minor premiers Ouyen United and second placed Beulah.
Just for a change, this time around the pressure is on Beulah. After a big loss against United the last time the two protagonists met, it is now time for the Blues to reassert their ascendancy over the Demons because if Ouyen United win this one, and particularly if they win it well, there will be very little that can be done to stop them in a Grand Final, This Ouyen United team runs on confidence and class … and they have both in abundance.
Neither side will be in a position to make excuses if they lose as they both have long lists from which to chose a starting team. In fact, the only problems both sides will have will be dealing with disappointed players who do not make the final line-up as they both face plenty of selection problems.
Beulah will welcome back big men Adam Carter and Riley Lehmann who are up for selection. Ouyen United will be without captain Jarrod Munro and he will be a huge loss. If Munro is back at all this year, it will only be for a Grand Final game and United have to get there first.
If team selections are going to be vital to the result of this game, team positional line-ups will be even more crucial. The last time they met United made some astute decisions. Andrew Jardine went to Peter Lehmann, Adam O’Callaghan was on his usual matchup David King and young Joshua Langdon was given the role of following Jarred Combe. All of these moves came off and there is reason to believe that this is how they will again line up this week.
Beulah had Rory Shannon starting on Sonny Lindsey and Sam Martin picked up Ryan Vallance who went off injured early in the game. With these two back men picking up the number one and two United forwards, it can leave Dom Leach in a pocket with the third match up and he is quite capable of causing damage.
With big Steph Saunders coming up against Craig Deckert, a lot will depend on the number of centre line clearances each team can claim. Beulah’s Gareth Hose and Scott Smith have had very good seasons, although none has done better than MFL medal winner Dale Shannon. Glenn Joyce has lined up on Shannon in the past, although they tend to play wide of each other.
Joyce has had a great season finishing fourth in the MFL medal and he combines well with Marc Hahnel and Peter Caldow to give United a lot of drive. With Ryan O’Callaghan and Brett Knowles thrown in, the Ouyen United midfield crew could be too good for their well credentialed opponents.
Beulah will be pleased to have Adam Carter back at centre half forward and we can expect Andrew Jardine to pick him up. United will miss Munro, but they still have a tight, highly team-oriented backline with Kieran O’Shannessy running the ship
The last time they met, Ouyen United won because they set up victory in the first term when all United players manned up, stuck to their opponent and looked determined not to let the Blues get an early break as they had done the last few times these two sides met.
‘We know that we will have to stop Beulah getting a good start,’ said Demon coach Ryan O’Callaghan. ‘This was the most pleasing aspect of our win last time we met and we have to repeat the process.’
Beulah’s loss in Round 16 had to happen some time and they will now be ready for United. In that loss they were in trouble early when they lost Steph Saunders before half time and they were already without Kim Hallam, Riley Lehmann and Adam Carter. The Blues will throw everything that they have at the opposition in their desire to get the break on the Demons. This time the pressure is on them.
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The monkey is off the Demon’s back. They have had one confidence building win against the Blues and will be all out to translate that memorable win into a finals victory. The signs look good for the highly tuned Dees and they should have too much talent for Beulah, but expect a titanic battle.
Last Modified on 01/09/2011 10:26