After a tight final round which determined the all-important finals double chance, the 2013 Netafim Finals Series kicks off this weekend with the two losing teams bowing out of the Premiership race. Sam Saracino provides his take on this week’s Elimination Finals action.
2nd Elimination Final: Saturday 31 August - Stanhope (3rd) v Lancaster (6th) at Lancaster. 2.05pm start
Clearly in any other year Stanhope would have been afforded the double chance for an outstanding 16-2 season. However, the Maroons knew right from the outset that finishing in the top two was vital to have a real crack at the premiership. They are expected to build upon their performance on the weekend when they made light work of Girgarre.
With Bendigo Gold’s season finished, the Maroons will welcome Steven Stroobants and Thomas Hams into the team. The Maroons have had an even contribution from its playing list hence the club’s position on the ladder. Matt Johnson has been recruited in the second half of the season and proved a valuable goal-kicking target. The usual suspects of Tim Karolidis, Brenton Gray, Thomas Hepburn, Jye Ledin and Michael Coad have all been outstanding contributors for the team.
Lancaster on its day can beat most sides on the evidence of this season. The Wombats have been competitive against all other top six teams despite only beating Nagambie in round two. They have lost all the other six encounters – twice to Murchsion, once to Violet Town, Nagambie, Merrigum and today’s opponent Stanhope back on a wet day in June where only 15 points separated them. The Wombats have a potent forward line led by Heath Barnett who is well supported by Nic Casey, Adrian Meka, Ricki Busch and Chris Eddy. The worry for the Wombats is their lack of midfield depth and the height down back. Coach Paul Burnett is a warrior, but he will need more support from his team-mates for them to be a chance of causing an upset.
1st Elimination Final: Sunday 1 September – Nagambie (4th) v Violet Town (5th) at Merrigum. 2.05pm start
Nagambie will take solace in the fact it has defeated Violet Town earlier in the season. The reigning premier is in an elimination final simply because it hasn’t won enough games against the better teams. It has lost twice to Murchison and has been vanquished by Stanhope and Nagambie. The wins against the other contenders have come at home against Lancaster, Nagambie and Merrigum all in the second half of the season. Last week the Towners’ were poor early and battled on to win the second half marginally.
Violet Town may need more than top class performances from Pat Horsburgh, Brendan Gleeson, Sean Horsburgh, Rob Osborne and the class of Chris Tarrant to ensure the team gets past the first hurdle. My mail is that Ben Kinnear and Jack Smyth will be available but Ben Johnson only remains a 50-50 chance of playing.
Nagambie has been a really consistent performer after a scratchy opening to 2013. Linc Sullivan will tell his players to take on their Violet Town opponents and not fear them. Led by Michael Shiels, Nagambie have had a wonderful season and the key players Daniel Haysom, Michael Bradbury, Grant Connors, Jason Shiels, Tyrone Muir and Ben Hutton will all need to perform to ensure they get the points.
Last Modified on 16/12/2014 10:09