By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – PRELIMINARY FINAL WEST DIVISION
KOOWEERUP v GARFIELD
Preliminary Final – Saturday from 2.10pm at Nar Nar Goon.
Ladder positions: 2nd (14 wins, 4 losses) versus 4th (10 wins, 8 losses)
Earlier this season:
Round 6 at Kooweerup – Kooweerup 12.13 (85) d Garfield 13.5 (83).
Round 13 at Garfield – Kooweerup 10.15 (75) d Garfield 4.4 (28).
Round 20 at Kooweerup – Kooweerup 10.5 (65) d Garfield 8.15 (63).
KOOWEERUP knocked over Garfield each time the two sides met throughout the home and away season and finished four wins clear on the ladder.
But all of that counts for nothing this Saturday as the two sides face off for a place in the inaugural EDFL West grand final.
Ryan Hendy’s men and Matt Shorey’s side have taken two vastly different routes to this game. The Stars were irresistible in their semi-final while the Demons faded late against the Cobras.
The loss was bad enough for Kooweerup on the weekend, but it will be even more costly if Tim Miller (hamstring) can’t take his place in the side this week. He and his brother Ben (ankle) are two of the Demons’ most important players and both are racing against the clock to prove their fitness for Saturday’s do-or-die clash.
On the plus side for Demons fans’, tough-as-nails midfielder Matt Grant looks likely to return from his own hamstring injury and will take plenty of stopping at the coal face.
All eyes from across the Ellinbank league will be fixed on Spencer Street this weekend to see if the Stars can break their 2014 hoodoo against the Demons – having lost in Rounds 6, 13 and most recently by two points in a game they clearly should have won in Round 20.
There’s always more on the line for Matt Shorey when he comes up against the Stars. Not only is he facing his former side, he’s got to battle a family connection at Garfield as well.
Still on Shorey – he’ll be desperate to hit the score sheet and hit it early on Saturday after lowering his colours to an impressive Cobras backline at Catani. But he’s far from the only one looking to lift. The McGrath twins – still new to finals’ football – are both potential match-winners and they’ll relish the chance to play on Spencer Street’s vast expanses, while proven big game players Luke Walker and Paul Gramc will be doing everything in their power to extend the Demons’ season for at least another week. Koowee’s heart and soul Rhys Morgan, strong-marking key forward Rob Beswick and big-bodied utility Andrew Proctor also have vital roles to play.
The Stars will again be out to make the most of their versatility this week and, with a clean bill of health, could afford to play the likes of Will Collis in a defensive role inside the forward 50.
But their run and carry out of their own backline could prove the key. With rain possible and cooler, heavier conditions likely on Saturday, the strong bodies of the Demons will be slightly favoured. The Stars will look for quick ball movement, and as they showed against Nar Nar Goon, many of their attacks start inside defensive 50.
When it comes to Garfield’s likely match-winners – the list just seems longer at this point of the season. But coach Ryan Hendy – himself a huge danger up forward – thinks his side’s youngsters could hold the key.
“Let’s go back to the start of the year and be honest about it – we had 12 blokes from last year’s premiership group leave,” he said.
“We had to look at how we were going to fill those gaps but we just backed young kids in.
“We didn’t go out and try and spend ridiculous amounts of money – we were smart about it.”
The Stars were the last side to cement their finals’ spot and didn’t lock it down until the final rounds of the home-and-away season. But no side wants to play Garfield in September.
“It’s even par for us and Kooweerup now,” Hendy said.
“Two weeks ago they had the extra chance and we had to go about it the hard way but I think we took a lot of confidence out of the last time we played them.
“We had 17 men on the ground for a quarter and had a lot more scoring shots than them.
“We should have won.”
“We sat down and looked at that and realised we have to hurt them when we get the ball forward.
“The challenge is there for us… we’re the underdogs and we deserve to be but with the momentum that we have going for us, I’m happy to be that way.”
They’ll enter as the lower-ranked side this week, but we don’t buy Garfield as underdogs in any final. The Stars seem to still be getting stronger, and it’s for this reason we’re tipping them by 20 points.
