by Jim Gordon
JEPARIT
RAINBOW V OUYEN UNITED
This
clash between second placed Ouyen United and Jeparit Rainbow sitting a rung
below in third place, is the match of the round. Playing at Rainbow for the
first time in two months, the home side will be expecting a large crowd with
the in-form Lakers hoping to reverse their 65 point loss when the two teams met
in the first round
Jeparit
Rainbow will again rely on Heath Clugston and Corey Waldron to provide drive
from the midfield and they will look to Justin Chilver to give their runners
first use of the ball. Chilver is going to have to dominate, as the Ouyen on
ballers are their strength. The Demons get a lot of drive from Glenn Joyce,
Marc Hahnel and Peter Caldow and with a many pronged forward line, the Lakers
are going to have to cut off supply early. Either that, or Jayden Werner and
Adam Roll are going to have to play very well in defence against the strong
Ouyen forwards in Ash Connick and Sonny Lindsay.
Jeparit
Rainbow potentially have a very productive forward line. Peter Weir, Ben Zanker
and Brian Harrison are all capable of firing, even against a tight Ouyen
defence that could welcome back Kieran ‘The General’ O‘Shannessy from injury.
If
Ash Clugston misses through injury, the Lakers will be looking for Lucas
Edelsten, Luke Werner and Dean Schumann to step up and provide support.
This
match will be a good test of where Jeparit Rainbow stand compared to the top
two teams. If they can get home against Ouyen United, the top of the ladder
battle would suddenly look very interesting.
BEULAH
V SEA LAKE NANDALY
The
last time these two sides met the Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers seriously challenged
the Blues right up until half way through the last quarter when Beulah managed
to kick away.
The
Tigers rely heavily on Nathan Wight and Ryan Dowdy for the bulk of their
scoring. They could come up against Kim Hallam who was impassable at centre
half back for the Blues last week. He stopped countless attacks with his high
marking and whatever Hallman let slip through, the ever reliable Tim Hill was
at full back to stop anything that came his way. It should be a good battle in
the is duel between the Tiger forwards and the Blues’ defenders.
Ruckman
John Dixon gave his rovers first use of the ball last week. And for the Tigers,
on ball duties will fall heavily on Darcy Ryan as coaches Col Durie and Joe
Summerhayes will both be on the sidelines. This will add pressure to the Tiger
backline and will be another challenge for this inexperienced group who are
nevertheless learning all of the time. In particular, Taylor Hannig and Ray
Hender have developed in their roles and are steadily improving.
Beulah
are playing very well as they sit undefeated on top of the ladder. They should
win, and win easily against a Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers side battling to get
their best team onto the field.
WALPEUP
UNDERBOOL V WOOMELANG LASCELLES
This
is a chance for Woomelang Lascelles to open up their winning account as the
Roos are not having a good year. A combination of injuries to key players,
aging bodies and changes in personnel have seen Walpeup Underbool tumble from
the heady days of back to back flags to second last on the ladder with only one
win for the season.
The
fact that their only win was against the Cats should give the Roos some
confidence, especially as Woomelang Lascelles has been decimated by injuries
for quite a few weeks now.
This
week they welcome back Dylan Bett to the half back line after a week off with
knee soreness. Full back Daen Murray will be tested and could possibly return
after six weeks off with an ankle injury and full forward Kade Schack will also
be tested after eight weeks off with a strained knee.
It
will be interesting to see if Ash Hulland gets a game for the Cats this week. Hulland
has been Best on Ground for the past two weeks in the Reserves and he could be
a chance to finally play in the Seniors this week.
Walpeup
Underbool are coming off the bye. They have relied all year on the strength of
Jim Wakefield and Chris Lynch in defence, AJ Wisneske, Matthew Palmer and Scott
Munro have put in a few good games and Warrick Brady has been brilliant in
bursts.
These
are two proud Clubs that have experienced great success in the not too distant
past. With Woomelang Lascelles still very much undermanned, the Roos should
come away with a win. It could be close as the atmosphere is very positive at
Woomelang Lascelles, they are still getting plenty onto the training track, and
they are desperate for their first win for the season.
Last Modified on 07/07/2010 17:53
