BEWARE THE DEMONS, CARDY
By Louie Bulzomi
Having regained fourth spot by defeating Euston away, Cardross can solidify it against the winless Nangiloc at Henshilwood Oval. But this promises to be far from a one-sided contest.
Nangiloc were brilliant in Round 10 against Werrimull at the Lake and again had to deal with a near-empty bench. Which brings about some ‘what ifs’: What if they had a full 22 every week? What if David Keens had been available up forward all season? What if Sam Lee, Brad Johnson and Tristan Stephens hadn’t suffered serious injuries (in Stephens’ case, season-ending)? Add these to the consistent Cameron Peters, Ben Crosbie and Jared Turvey, and they would definitely not be 0-10 at this stage.
Cardross should know full well what the Demons can bring, having trailed them by 33 points at half-time last meeting before a massive third quarter doused the fire. So the Lions need to be switched on from the beginning if they are to remain fourth, and with Damien Spicer and Eamon Higgins proving as important as Andrew Ferguson, Tom Wallace, Jayden Boehm, Ben Ransome and Jake Zoch, they are well placed to do so.
Fresh from a 188-point turnaround from midway through the second quarter against Werrimull to the finish against Bambill, Gol Gol are keen to hone in on the double chance when they travel to Euston.
Generally, opposition clubs cannot prevent a Sonny Lindsey goal fest. However, if he’s left to be the sole major goalkicker, the Hawks tend to struggle. That’s where the likes of Nick Rodi, David Gray, Dustin Duggan, and Kaleb Sherwell come into play. Their ability to cause greater headaches for defences will prove vital if they are to entertain any Grand Final plans.
The Bombers’ fortress is crumbling, having lost their past two there and looking at long odds to win this encounter. They should regain Josh Healy from suspension to beef up their midfield, but will need to have him and everyone else significantly improve their ball use and vision to keep up with the highly effective Gol Gol. Expect Joseph Denaro, Peter Marciano and Harlan Pettit to lead that necessary improvement. If not, Euston’s finals hopes could end up on life support, with Werrimull and Bambill probably pulling the plug in the weeks to follow.
Speaking of Werrimull and Bambill, they collide at Mildura Senior College in a game that’s hard to predict when looking back at their recent history.
The “Grand Final Replay” in Round 1 had all signs pointing to the Saints, but the Magpies stunned them in the final quarter to sneak home. Werrimull then enjoyed a beautiful undefeated run, while Bambill struggled with injuries to limp to 2-3 by the time they met again in Round 6. Based on that, it was a tad shocking that the Saints came out and comfortably defeated the Magpies with David Hall, Luke Stanbrook, Michael Hickey, Robbie Morgan and Simon Dean all in fine touch.
Since then, Werrimull have again remained unbeaten, while Bambill were doing likewise until Gol Gol stopped them dead in their tracks. The Magpies will be hoping that Ryan Tierney and Jamie Keenan can recover from injury in time to play, and that the midfield brigade of Paul Jenkins, Graeme Mentiplay Shannon Anthony and Brad Duscher can nullify the expected ruck dominance of Ryan McClelland and rove off his taps.
It should be a cracker, with Werrimull needing this win to really enhance their premiership favouritism.
Last Modified on 05/07/2012 18:18