by Jim Gordon
JEPARIT RAINBOW V HOPETOUN
Last year Jeparit Rainbow were able to brush Hopetoun aside in the first semi final and march into the preliminary final after a comfortable 29 point victory.
Hopetoun did themselves no favours that day with an inaccurate display in front of goal. They won‘t be able to afford another wasteful day because it looks like the Lakers have consolidated, or even improved from 2010, even with one or two big name departures over summer.
Peter Weir is one who is no longer with the Lakers. They will miss him as last year he turned in a best on ground performance in the semi with four goals and 20 plus possessions.
Last week Jeparit Rainbow did well against Ouyen United. Coach Luke Werner was pleased with their game and feels that he has an improved team from last year.
Against the Demons, Jeparit Rainbow’s backline was solid. Daniel Greig has slipped in nicely at fullback and did well to hold Sonny Lindsay to six goals and was even able to negate Lindsay in the air.
Simon Clugston should improve. He needed the game last week after missing practice games and Luke Werner will provide lots of run out of defence.
Hopetoun will be looking to Kain Robins for around the ground leadership and will be relying on young players Zac Robins, Ben Reid and Rylan Wellington to take the next step from last season.
The addition of Chris Heath will strengthen the Hopetoun half back line and there is a buzz of excited about the prospects of recruits Ruben Vesikuru and Luke Milroy as on ballers. Expect to see more of Leigh Hutchinson down in Devil’s backline this season.
Hopetoun are going to need Bryce Wellington firing up forward and his tussle with the inform Daniel Greig should be worth seeing.
Midfield is the Lakers’ strength. Justin Chilver in ruck, the Clugston brothers, Ben Marra and Andrew Jackson give them a lot of drive. Key forwards Ben Zanker, Andrew Hiscock and Adam Roll can improve on last week against United and the Lakers will also we need to deliver the ball better to their forwards.
The Rainbow oval is in top condition for this game. There should be a good crowd at this match and Hopetoun is always a tough game for Jeparit Rainbow. They won’t want to lose and be zero-two to begin the season. In fact, a win is essential for both sides with the added interest in whether Kain Robbins can get Hopetoun off to a winning start for the season. However, it may not be quite enough. At home, Jeparit Rainbow to win this enticing encounter.
BEULAH V OUYEN UNITED
This rematch of the 2010 Grand Finalists should be worth the trip to Beulah. These two sides had some great battles last year. Beulah came out on top each time, yet each time United were able to match it with Beulah for long periods of play, only for the Blues to find a way home when the going got tough.
It will be an important game for the Blues in front of their home crowd as they will want to show everyone that they are still the team to beat for top honours. Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers found a way home last week to be the first side in over a year to defeat Beulah, now it is Ouyen United’s turn to see if they can put a substantial dent in the Blues opening to season 2011.
Beulah are going to need to improve drastically after the disappointment of losing to the Tigers. It is a new experience for them and they did not like it. Coach Scott Smith is bound to have reinforced that message this week.
Beulah’s younger players will need to lift and follow the example set by the experienced Gareth Hose, Dale Shannon and Garry Hallam who continue to lead the way.
Last week the Beulah forward line did not make the most of their early chances at goal with the result that Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers ran all over them in the final term.
Ouyen United are expecting Brett Knowles to play his first match for the season, Peter Caldow is unavailable this week and Ben McCleary will be playing even after limping off the ground in the third quarter last week.
Demon onballers and midfielders were down on possessions last week and will look to have more of the ball, especially with Todd Barker in fine form in the ruck. Up forward, United have two strong key position players and down back, the experienced Jarrod Munro and Adam Moore are playing well.
The Beulah Blues should win at home. They seem to have Ouyen United’s measure. However, all it would take would be for Brad Vallance or Sonny Lindsay to play a dominant role and the result could go the other way. What ever happens, it should be great game.
WALPEUP UNDERBOOL V SEA LAKE NANDALY TIGERS
At home, Walpeup Underbool will need to improve on their game against Woomelang Lascelles if they hope to win. On recent form, Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers will be too strong and determined and should come out on top, but expect an improved Roo effort this week.
Walpeup Underbool did show a lot of determination at times last week to get back in the contest against the Cats, but they seemed to run out of legs in the last quarter.
Fortunately for the Roos, they came out of the game relatively unscathed and should have an almost full list from which to pick.
Wade Champion was a standout last week for Walpeup Underbool and they will be hoping for more of the same against the Tigers.
Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers were very happy with the performance of their recruits last week and this week they add another in Mark Deutsher. This only leaves Mark Roberts missing through injury from the Tiger list.
Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers are very aware that the trip to Underbool is never an easy one and they will come up against a new group of players as the Roos have recruited well. The Tigers will need to cover several key players to come away with the points.
The Underbool oval is in fantastic condition after the wet summer. If the Roos can get a good start, they could stay with the Tigers for some of the contest, but they will need to watch out, the Tigers are fit and ran all over the Blues last week.
Last Modified on 07/04/2011 09:25
