CAN MAGPIES REPEAT DOSE?
By Louie Bulzomi
One cycle down and Werrimull sits on top of the ladder having conquered all challengers and appearing unbeatable. But the question at Lake Cullulleraine will be: Can they defeat Bambill again?
Only 5 points separated the two sides last time, with the Saints leading for most of the day until the Magpies fixed their goalkicking deficiencies in the final quarter. Since then, both sides have travelled different paths.
Werrimull have been ruthless against their opposition, with 3 10-goal-plus victories and a gutsy win without Ryan Tierney, Ash Bates and Shannon Anthony over a strong Gol Gol outfit. Bambill, on the other hand, have battled manfully with a lot of stars – namely Luke Hubble, David Hall and Leigh McIntyre – mostly unavailable, but have dropped games to other premiership fancies Euston and Gol Gol and are clinging to 4th place.
The backline contingent of Jarratt Farley, Hubble and co. will need to be at their 2011 Grand Final best to stop Mark Duscher, Courtney Moore, Adam Thomson and Bates, who have combined for 67 goals so far this season. If they aren’t, then the answer to the posed question will be ‘Yes’.
Once again Euston succumbed to the travel bug, barely getting out of bed as Cardross put them away well before quarter time. This week they hit the road again (albeit not as far), turning left off Sturt Highway into Carramar Drive to tackle Gol Gol.
The Bombers had the better of their Round 1 encounter, winning by 55 points as many new Hawk players were still getting acquainted with each other. But, to be fair, it would seem highly unlikely that a similar result will occur this time around.
Euston sorely missed the in-form Anthony McMahon in defence last week. While they’re hopeful of regaining him to help Tom Healy and Zane Hammet combat the seemingly unstoppable Sonny Lindsey, it will still be an uphill battle for them to cut off his supply from the skilful Tim Vandenberg, Darren Brown, David Gray and Shaun McInerney (among others).
Another pivotal player for the Bombers is Phil Connell – if he’s back in the line-up, then his prolific hitouts to advantage will make their deep and talented midfield more lethal. But the Hawks have really clicked since Round 1, and will be hard to reel in if they get an early break.
Speaking of breaks, Nangiloc can’t catch one in Season 2012, but a home game against Cardross gives them a good chance to do so and finally open their account.
A tight first half between these two in Round 1 blew out in the second as the Lions got on top with Andrew Ferguson running amok, Scott Richards tagging Cameron Peters, Jake Zoch dominating in the ruck, and Mark East and Darren McCarthy booting 6 goals apiece. They, along with Ben Ransome (fresh from a one-week layoff), will again be high on the Demons’ list of must-stop players.
Of course, Nangiloc can’t simply rely solely on a defensive mindset if they hope to prevail. They need to win plenty of the pill and attack themselves, and boast the talent (led by Peters, Jamie Riordan, Ben Mansell and Jared Turvey) to achieve exactly that. But a growing injury list featuring key players – Tristan Stephens the latest casualty alongside Brad Johnson and Sam Lee – looms as the poison that may cripple them.
Given such injuries, Cardross should be able to continue their improved recent form and take the points.
Last Modified on 18/05/2012 06:03