CaseyCardinia preview round 18

By Brad Kingsbury
PAKENHAM and Hampton Park will play early elimination finals against Berwick and Keysborough respectively in the last homeandaway round this weekend.
Providing that round 18 results go along the lines of form and ladder position, the young Redbacks and Lions will complete improved seasons and face off in the first final the week after.
“It’s quite simple we win and we’re in,” mused Hampton Park coach Jason Chapple in the clubrooms after Saturday’s win over Cranbourne.
“Of course it’s a game we should win and I expect to beat Keysborough as much as any side any week, but how do you think they’d be feeling without winning a game and having the chance to knock a side out of the finals in the last round?
“We have to get up for this game and earn our position.”
Keysborough will try hard as it has for most of the season, but the Redbacks should seal their finals’ berth with ease.
Pakenham’s home game against Berwick should also be a foregone conclusion on current form.
The Wickers were devastated by 27 goals last week and fell to ninth position.
The Lions were beaten by thirdplaced Narre Warren, but finished the game off well and, at the Toomuc Reserve, should have little trouble inflicting Berwick’s seventh consecutive loss of a forgettable season.
The match of the round will take place at the Perc Allison Reserve when top two teams Doveton and Beaconsfield meet in their final tuneup before the finals.
Just how many cards coaches Steve Henwood and Leigh Clifford lay on the table in the game will be the question.
Neither team’s position can be altered by the result and both have players, either injured or underdone, who may be rested with a view to the coming weeks.
Having said that, pride is on the line, along with the mental edge at the business end of the season, so a win will be high on both mentors’ wish list.
Beaconsfield is a master at doing the improbable at this time of year and although they will be underdogs, an upset by the Eagles at home is on the cards.
If Devon Meadows beats ROC and either Pakenham or Hampton Park lose, they could also sneak into the five.
The same scenario faces the Kangaroos if they are victorious.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the first part of the equation winning the game will be the most difficult.
ROC was as close as you can get to snatching a victory over Beaconsfield last week, earning it a finals berth and the style of football it played was uncompromising.
While it is never easy for opposition sides to play at Glover Reserve, ROC has the personnel to stretch the Panthers and should put the unlikely finals’ dream beyond the home team’s reach before halftime.
Cranbourne will be keen to finish another poor season with a good showing for their retiring coach Darren Martello.
This week’s match against Narre Warren at the racecourse oval will be a test for the Magpies, who are entrenched in the five and have little to play for other than a final sharpen up for the qualifying finals next weekend.
The Hawks are playing their kids with a view to 2006 and beyond and while they will have a good go at it, Narre Warren will be far too accomplished.
The final game between Dingley and Tooradin will be competitive for at least a half, after both are teams finding some lateseason form.
The Dingoes will want to finish the season on a high note, but it will be the Seagulls who are singing their song for the eighth and final time this year.