ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 14
By RUSSELL BENNETT
THOUGH last year’s two divisions are back together as one this season, we still don’t really know how the Beasts of the East and Best of the West stack up against each other.
This week at CORA LYNN, the two premiership-winning sides of 2014 finally come face-to-face. To say it’s a mouth-watering contest doesn’t nearly go far enough because it could well be a preview of this year’s decider.
BULN BULN has just come off an impressive win at home against the Warragul Industrials – the first of a particularly brutal stretch of games in its fixture.
And Lyrebirds player-coach Brent Eastwell said that result was huge for his side’s confidence.
“To tick the first one off (in such a tough stretch) is big,” he said straight after the win.
“For the playing group, I just hope they’ve come away thinking we’ve got nothing to fear moving into next week (against Cora Lynn).
“Their players will go out there the same as us. They’ve got a lot more high profile players than us, but if we can show again what we showed today that’s all I can ask.
“The boys haven’t got ahead of themselves or anything like that.”
Whereas, Cobras counterpart Travis Marsham said his side had “been keeping a close eye” on Buln Buln “for a while now”.
The Cobras currently have an unbeaten 13-game winning streak to start their season, and they’re rightfully judged as the yardstick of the competition to this point. But while the likes of the Lyrebirds haven’t yet had the chance to test themselves against the Cobras, Marsham’s men are eagerly awaiting that same opportunity against Buln Buln.
Marsham said the ruck matchup on Saturday – featuring David Main and Brad Horaczko versus Matt Gray and Bryce Monahan – would be particularly intriguing.
“Buln Buln has some out-and-out stars in their lineup,” he said.
“The buzz around our side right now in the lead-up to this game is as high as it’s been all year.”
Part of what has made Buln Buln and Cora Lynn so successful both this year and last has been their discipline, and Marsham was unequivocal on what that could mean for their 2015 chances.
“I’ve always believed that the most disciplined side wins the premiership,” he said.
“I’m really strong on that.”
As for how the Cobras plan to tackle this week’s challenge, Marsham said his forward line had the potential to throw out Buln Buln’s defensive structure somewhat, and with the likes of Jackson Dalton, Daniel Uzarevic, Ryan Gillis, Nathan Langley and Anthony Giuliano all up there in addition to a resting ruckman – either David Main or Brad Horaczko – it’s easy to see why.
But the Cobras are also wary of Buln Buln’s star power.
“Aussie (Jones) and I really rated Mitch Nobelius’ game in interleague and he’s been dominant for Buln throughout the year.
“They’ve got some real stars – like him, and Tyson Bale – and having worked with Easty (Eastwell) a fair bit through interleague, I know he’s structurally a very good coach and he’s got an excellent footy brain.
“I’ve got that much respect for him.
“It’s a good time of the year to see how we measure up with them, and we can’t wait – especially after the week off.”
The other showpiece match of the round this week is at ‘The Kennel’ between the rampaging BUNYIP, and KOOWEERUP.
Demons player-coach Matt Shorey knows exactly what to expect out of the Bulldogs, and his side can’t wait for the challenge.
“We know the calibre of players they have – like (Brad) Walker, (Nathan) Lieshout, and Heus,” he said, referring to Lieshout as the Bulldogs’ barometer.
“Bunyip has always been a competitive team and if we want to play finals footy, we need a scalp.”
The Demons have been hard at work on improving their clearances over recent weeks, and they should have Matt Grant back in the fold with the veteran hard-nut set to return from a hamstring niggle.
But it was an injection of youth – such as Lachy Moss and Alex Considine – into the middle on the weekend that has Shorey particularly excited. Versatile defender Jack Carson, however, is set to miss again with an Achilles complaint.
Bulldogs player-coach Brad Walker has his own injury concerns to deal with though, with vitally important midfielder Michael Whyte set to miss with concussion symptoms following a recent heavy knock.
“We’re being very cautious with him,” Walker said.
“We won’t be bringing him back until his right because he’s had a few knocks now, but he’s a big loss for our side.”
Walker said the Demons had match-winners all over the ground, such as his namesake Luke, who couldn’t be taken lightly.
“We can’t take them for granted,” he said.
“They’re definitely still a premiership threat, in my opinion.
“We’re not going to be able to match up on all of them – they’re really versatile.
“With players like (Luke) Walker and Shaun Marusic in the side we can’t spend too much time on matchups because you don’t know for sure how they’ll line up.”
The Bulldogs have prided themselves on a defence first mentality all year, which Walker maintains has kept the group grounded, but it’s their balanced scoring that could be their biggest strength.
“I think the most important thing for us is not worrying about who’s scoring goals – it’s just making sure we are as a team,” Walker said.
“We don’t have any goal-kickers in the top 10 in the league, for example.
“Us and Buln are very similar sides in a lot of ways – we’re not so worried about not having the big names.”
Brent Heus and Kris Fletcher are both set to take their places in the Bunyip lineup this week, but Walker said his side would face a huge test in the coming weeks.
“We’ve been fairly lucky with our draw but we’ve got three very tough games against Kooweerup, Buln Buln and Neerim South to come,” he said.
“Kooweerup has a dynamic midfield with good ball-users – guys like the Millers, Matt Grant, Walker, and Gramc.
“It’s about holding them accountable.”
Cora Lynn looks set to continue their winning streak this weekend – even if only just – against Buln Buln, while the Bulldogs should prove too much for the Demons to handle.
CATANI should just edge LANG LANG in what’s sure to be a fascinating arm wrestle at Taplins Road.
“I’d imagine they’re going a fair bit better than what they were when we played last,” said Catani coach Paul Alger in the lead-up to the game, referring to the Blues’ 31-point win over the Tigers way back in Round 2.
“It’s winnable for both sides – they’re in a similar position to us.
“(But) for us to win the effort has to be there. Our good players need to stand up and play well and if we haven’t got everyone contributing, we’re no chance.”
Alger said his side’s injury list looks pretty good at this stage of the season, as does Jack Halligan’s at the Cats.
NEERIM NEERIM SOUTH hosts NILMA DARNUM in a game they must win if they’re to make their top four hopes a reality. The Cats are currently sitting in fifth, two points behind the Dusties.
“We’ve got four games left and we need to win at least three of the four (to make it),” Halligan said.
His men know the importance of a win this weekend and they’ll enter the game with a near full-strength side.
Halligan said the key, at least early in the contest, would be the midfield battle.
“If we do that, we’ll cut off supply to their forwards,” he said, referring to the likes of super dangers, potential match-winner Jay Wells.
The Cats haven’t played since their draw against Buln Buln on 11 July and Halligan emphasised the importance of his men being switched on straight away tomorrow.
As for their own areas of improvement – he said the Cats needed a few more avenues to goal up forward. The Cats should comfortably beat Nilma Darnum at home, and they need to.
Plenty of attention, meanwhile, will be on the Crows’ nest in LONGWARRY as the home side takes on NAR NAR GOON for the visitors’ first game since coach Tom Hallinan stepped down.
Nar Nar Goon Football Club president Adrian Scott said Hallinan stood down from his position last Sunday afternoon, adding: “Tom has some health issues that are a priority in his life now, rather than football.”
Chris Kent and Chris Jones have taken over Hallinan’s duties from this weekend onwards, with Chris Langley also continuing in his role as a playing-assistant.
Crows coach Scott Gowans admitted he doesn’t know what to expect out of tomorrow’s game, given the external circumstances. He’s more focused on his own backyard.
“We had a disgraceful performance last week (against Garfield) and we had a club meeting on Tuesday night,” he said.
“Our effort really fell away last week.
“The boys need to take some self belief into this game – we need to win three of our last four.”
Much like the Cats in their bid to make the top four, the Crows need to win three of their last four to secure a finals spot.
Luke Hughes, Glenn Browney, Ben Cuckson and Shayne Gillings are all set to miss this week, while Alex Veitch and Mark Light will line up – as will Nathan Sullivan, and 17-year-old Tom Gowans – son of Scott – for his first senior game.
The small forward is the Crows’ fifth under-18s player to come up into the firsts this season and Scott couldn’t be more proud.
“He needs to work on his fitness, but you tell him to do a role and he just does it,” said Scott, who has previously coached his son back in the under-15s at Fountain Gate.
“He’s what I’d call footy wise.”
This is a crucial game for the ninth-placed Longwarry, which at the moment sits outside the top eight on percentage alone. But we’re predicting the Goon to get over the line in a thriller.
In the round’s two other games, GARFIELD should record a big win over the Bankers in ELLINBANK, and the WARRAGUL INDUSTRIALS will likely come out breathing fire at Western Park and record their own big win over POOWONG.
Nyora has the Round 14 bye.
