By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 17
MUCH of the intrigue of the final home and away round of the season will centre on Bunyip and Warragul this week as the Dogs and Cats go head-to-head, and the Dusties get their long-awaited crack at the still undefeated Cora Lynn.
Garfield is in the box seat to jump to sixth, given the Stars face the Tigers at the showgrounds in Lang Lang. The Cats currently occupy that sixth spot but are just four points clear of Ryan Hendy’s men and they have a huge percentage disadvantage – Neerim South’s 138.77 up against Garfield’s whopping 175.36.
The league’s top two sides – Cora Lynn and Bunyip – will remain so regardless of results this weekend; while the Dusties could leapfrog Buln Buln into third with a win over the Cobras on their home Western Park deck. Of course, that would rely on the Lyrebirds dropping their final home-and-away game to last year’s conquered EDFL East grand final nemesis, Longwarry.
Kooweerup is safe in the eighth last finals position, but given the Goon has the final round bye a win for the Cats over the Dogs would see Jack Halligan’s men climb up to fifth.
There’s just so much on the line in one day of the fixture.
Halligan is wary of Bunyip’s balanced scoring attack, which was on full display in Round 16, but he also knows if his men are to snatch the four points they’ll have to find a way of quelling the Dogs leg-speed. In what’s bound to be a thrilling matchup, the keys will likely lie in the middle of the ground at the centre clearances, and on Bunyip’s half-back line as South tries to find a way of dampening Nathan Lieshout’s impact. The Dogs should have too much at home and continue their impressive winning streak.
For Cora Lynn against the Dusties in the other match of the round, Cobras coach Travis Marsham will preach consistency.
He knows how damaging the Dusties can be at times, with the likes of Joel Gibson, Daniel Johnson and Shane Brewster (who was at Narre Warren under Aussie Jones and Marsham) capable of turning any match on its head.
“They’re well coached, and well structured,” said Marsham of the Dusties, who – in Ash Green – are coached by another name more than familiar to both he and Jones (from their time at the Gippsland Power).
The likely scenario is that these two sides will meet again in the first week of the finals, so it’s intriguing to see how much of their respective poker hands will be shown this Saturday.
But Marsham was adamant: “You don’t go out to not play your best footy – it’s the wrong time of the year to mess with things”.
To have maintained an unblemished record through the first 16 rounds, the Cobras deserve to go into this one as clear favourites and they should win by upwards of four goals. But don’t be at all surprised to see the Dusties cause the upset at home.
In the other games of the round, Catani should be far too strong at home for Poowong (in an important day at Taplins Road for the Blues faithful); Garfield should pick up a big win over Lang Lang but will need to remain switched on against a side that plays its home ground particularly well; Buln Buln should pick up another four points over Longwarry; Kooweerup will be far too strong for Nyora; and Ellinbank should pick up a hard-earned win over Nilma Darnum.
