by Jim Gordon
Jeparit Rainbow v Ouyen United
The last time Jeparit Rainbow and Ouyen United met the result was a one-sided win to United. This time the game is to be played at Rainbow and even though the result may be the same, it certainly won’t be all one way traffic. The Lakers pride themselves on doing well against the Demons on their home turf.
That match earlier in the season was memorable for the complete domination of Ouyen United’s full forward Damien Cupido. His 17 goals received a lot of attention in country football circles and was a precursor to his great showing in the MFL Interleague win against Central Murray a couple of weeks later.
Cupido will approach this rematch with a lot of confidence even though some of Ouyen United’s key play makers may be missing. Peter Caldow, Jerry Wilson and Laurence Angwin all sustained what looked like bad injuries in Ouyen United’s good win against Hopetoun and may all be unavailable this week potentially cutting back supply to their forwards. It is time for some of the Dees lesser lights to step up.
Leigh Gniel provides a good second rucking option for Ouyen United and Wade Brady can play the role of a tap ruckman. Bradley Summerhayes had probably his best game of his season last week, Alexander Morrish is brilliant for parts of a game and Dom Leach is doing well in defence. Ouyen United will need this next rung of players to lift and gain the possessions necessary to keep Cupido busy at full forward.
Jeparit Rainbow had last minute team selections a week ago that upset the balance of their side. Not all of their players who come down from Darwin are available each week and with a constant string of injuries, they have not been able to play a settled team. There have been three or four changes to team selection each week.
Josh McCleary was missed last week and will be available this week. His absence really hurt the team as his ability to ruck and play up forward is crucial for team balance. McCleary should have an advantage over United with Angwin out.
Josh Murphy and Jake Parry who returned from injury last week got through the game without further mishap, but Adam Schultz and Simon Clugston were both injured in the first half and must be doubtful for this week’s game. As they play fullback and centre half back this will really weaken the Laker backline. Ben Zanker is still on the injury list and is sorely missed as Jeparit Rainbow’s most experienced forward.
Last week the Laker midfield won a fair bit of the ball and their defence, even with the injuries, tried hard but with Greg McLeish having to ruck they simply had no tall forwards. In the end, it was medium-sized Heath Clugston who spent a lot of time playing as a tall forward. With limited forward options, the Lakers won’t be able to register a score big enough to defeat the Demons.
Beulah v Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers
In the match of the day, Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers head to Beulah to take on the Blues on their home turf. Beulah are the benchmark of the competition so far this season. The Blues managed to hold out the Tigers by six points last time they met in a high scoring affair after Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers held a big half time lead. In the same game last year, the Tigers snuck home by a point. All the indications are that it will be another tight and torrid contest.
The winner of this game will not only take the four points, but top spot on the MFL is also up for grabs.
Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers had their biggest win for the season last week in downing the Lakers by a massive 149 points. For the second week in a row full forward Cliff Ryan kicked nine goals with five of them scored in the first quarter. Skipper Col Durie played a great game, Simon Weekley found form in his second game for the year, Darcy Ryan ran hard all day and Tom Summerhayes continued his wonderful form this year.
If David King returns for the Blues as expected, Beulah looks to have a formidable forward line. King kicked four against the Tigers last time they met, Tom Hallam managed five and Dennis Redden is having a very good season and is near the top in the MFL goal kicking. Tyler Lehmann plays forward and then there are the Buchanan brothers Callum and Micah who have proven to be great acquisitions for Beulah this year.
Luke Spasic and Anthony McKenzie should both return from injury this week for Beulah. Peter Lehmann played his first game for the Blues last round kicking five goals and Beulah are hopeful that he will continue to play for the season.
Last week Beulah used six reserves players in their solid win against the Cats. All performed well indicating Beulah’s depth. This all over the ground spread of talent, experience and goal kicking ability may get them over the line in what should be a great game of MFL football.
Walpeup Underbool v Woomelang Lascelles
This is an important game for Walpeup Underbool. It looks like there are three sides guaranteed to play finals football and therefore the top two spots with the double chance are vitally important. The Roos were completely out played by Woomelang Lascelles last time they met when the Cats came from behind to over run Walpeup Underbool and ignite their season. In that game the Cats were more desperate than the Roos and were able to hurt them on the scoreboard. This time around things will be little different.
Walpeup Underbool are in much better form at the moment. They had the bye last week, just got up on the last kick of the day at Beulah the week before and gave Hopetoun a hiding at home the week before that. The Roos seem a lot more committed as the season builds up to finals, they are getting some of their better players back and they have the size and strength to more than match it with Woomelang Lascelles.
Walpeup Underbool will welcome back Josh Charles into their lineup. David Piasente and Jeremy Brown are also both a chance to return after missing the past few weeks with injury. Daniel Harris is still expected to miss.
With the Roos in much better shape than last time the two sides played, the Cats will just have to be on top of their game for a full 120 minutes. They have no injuries to report and Will Simpson and Kane Banham may even return from their calf injuries.
The Kelly brothers Corey and Nyaburu have been great additions to the Woomelang Lascelles line up. Joel Donnan is holding down full back very well and brother Kane is a class act around the centre. Rohan Coburn was one of few to stand out in the Cats’ loss to Beulah.
This should be a tough game as Woomelang Lascelles are not the easy beats they were last year. The know how to defeat the Roos and will give it their all. However, Walpeup Underbool are looking good and they are always a much tougher team at home.
Last Modified on 27/06/2013 20:24
