By Ken Moore
LONGWARRY has plenty of work to do to overturn a 53-point loss to Catani on Saturday when it meets again in this week’s elimination final on Saturday at Nar Nar Goon.
The Crows were well in the contest at half-time last week, but dithered with the ball too often with their ring-a-rosy style of play and it cost them goals when the Blues loaded up.
The large expanses of the Goon ground should help Longwarry’s run-and-carry style, but it will need to improve significantly on last week’s performance.
The Crows will draw inspiration on a monumental performance two seasons ago when it got thrashed in the last round of the home-and-away season by 127 points against Bunyip only to bounce back the next week.
Longwarry will also claim that aside from a 15-minute period in the third quarter on Saturday when they fell into an abyss, they were competitive for the rest of the game.
Unfortunately during this poor 20-minute patch, the Crows conceded nine unanswered goals.
The send off of their most reliable defender Ken Towt last week for allegedly kicking proved to be a huge turning point in the game and with a tribunal appearance, he is no certainty to be available this week.
The Crows, light on for top defenders, can ill afford his loss.
Running defender Blair Weller also left the field in the second half with an injury last week before game end and if he is not available it will also be another blow for the Crows.
On the plus side, hard-at-it defender Scott Hamilton, under-rated small utility Mark Light and tough midfielder Beau Ridgeway will all return.
All three are the type of players that give plenty of cheek and have a physical presence that is very important against the Blues, who have a number of mature big-bodied players.
Expect the Crows to re-jig their team in order to generate more goal-scoring power this week.
Catani has a big problem with what looks to be a hamstring injury to ruckman Phil Smith.
The tall follower also doubles as a genuine forward target and is irreplaceable.
The Blues did not miss his presence last week when he did not set foot on the ground after half-time, but would still not want to miss him this week.
Longwarry will dig deep and push the Blues for a long time, but with more forward options and a better balanced line-up, Catani should progress to the second week of the finals.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Nar Nar Goon v Warragul Industrials
ON Sunday at Kooweerup, Nar Nar Goon will face up to Warragul Industrials for the second consecutive week in the second elimination final.
The Dusties will enter favourites courtesy of their 18-point victory over the Goon on Saturday.
After what transpired last week, this game is likely to go down to the wire.
The Industrials have been riding on the crest of a wave all season and appear to delight in the big-match pressure after a string of top performances against all the top sides which says they should not be daunted by this week’s challenge.
If Warragul has a weakness it’s their lack of firepower in front of goal – however that did not pose a problem last week.
The Industrials will be thinking long and hard at the selection table this week.
It appears four players will need to be omitted to accommodate captain Matt Willis, the Larosa brothers, Dom and Chris and powerful forward Matt Groat, who are all expected to come into the starting 21.
Furthermore key defender Scott Francis has returned from Darwin, where he is based in the Army and should be better for playing against the Goon last Saturday in only his second game for season.
The Goon is unlikely to hit the panic button after last week’s loss and will likely make a few structural changes to its line-up.
However Tim Mulcahy, Steve Hobson and Craig Lewis will all come under consideration after playing well in the reserves last week.
I’ve got a feeling Nar Nar Goon will draw more from last week than Warragul.
The Goon appeared to have the Industrials measure for large parts of last week’s game only to let a few concentration lapses ruin their chances.
The first thing Nar Nar Goon will do is put a plan in place to combat the Brewster brothers, Danny and Shane, who were outstanding last week.
Nar Nar Goon had few good players last week, yet only went down by three kicks.
I’ll take a punt that a reshuffled Goon team will show more intensity at the ball and lift as a collective unit.
Their desire to win to will be borne out of last year’s two narrow final losses.
Nar Nar Goon to cause an upset in a thriller.
