#DontGoQuietly
Defensive pressure shapes as a critical element of Toowoomba's bold bid to beat minor premiers Dalby in Saturday’s McDonald's Shield qualifying final at Reddies Oval and grab a Grand-Final berth.
The Swans average 116points per game this season and that is down to one statistic, the Dalby Swans playing list, over 50% of players have kicked 11 or more goals this season. That statistic alone is impressive and the Tigers will need to be on top of their game and every player accountable.
Three Tigers have been labelled as the keys to the yellow and black advancing to the decider.
Calan Wilson, Eric Rattray and Brenton Dierke are the trio. All three bringing their unique style to the table, Wilson is quick, very agile and has an outstanding vertical leap and has played his best footy off a half-back but expect to see this Tiger cub in the middle for this final.
Rattray can run and run and run, did we mention he can run? Rattray's ability to start and finish the game at the same pace is well beyond his years, add to this his silky skills he is a hard player to go with.
Dierke plays more of a defensive role for Toowoomba but has the ability to impact the scoreboard. Dierke is one of the hardest working players in the McDonald's Shield and it is his consistency across the entire season which has been most impressive.
If these three Tigers can have a massive impact on both the scoreboard and clearances stats, Toowoomba will be in good shape.
However, the Tigers have numerous players that could have had a mention with the likes of Aiden Edwards who kicked 50 goals for the season, Jack Sheldrick, the Barnsley brothers, the list goes on.
Dalby finished on top of the McDonald's Shield ladder for a reason; they are a team full of stars and none more so than the goal-kicking machine and very talented Thomas Matthews. With 300+ goals across his junior career thus far, this leading Swan will no doubt receive some close attention across the finals.
Shutting down the impact of Matthews is key when playing the Swans but he is almost un-taggable with Matthews the all-round player.
Henry Bert and Tyler Peltz may be an option for opposition sides with the duo the most consistent Swans across the 2014 season behind the competitions number one ruck Cameron Ferguson. Peltz and Bert go under the radar of most but finals are for big players to shine and these two can rip games open.
With mouth-watering match ups across the paddock, this will no doubt be a match not to miss at Reddies Oval on Sunday.
MATCH DAY - Qualifying Final
Dalby Swans Vs. Toowoomba Tigers
11:00am bounce
Reddies Oval, Jackie Howe Drive - Warwick
Saturday 6th September, 2014
Last Modified on 08/09/2014 10:08
