By Ken Moore
WARRAGUL will be in the limelight this week when it hosts Maffra. It will be an exacting test for the improving Gulls and another measure of how far they have come this season.
It is hard to see what Warragul extracted from last week’s match as it merely strolled around to lead the hapless Hawks by 101 points, before lightning mercifully brought an end to affairs at threequarter time. Young speedster Tim McGibney was knocked out last week and will almost certainly miss. Interestingly, the Gulls shared the central ruck duties against Drouin between Alex Gavin, Xavier Gargan and Paul McNulty, which freed up Matt Gray to wreak havoc from the wing. The injuryprone Gargan was tremendous and kicked two inspirational long running goals to signal that he is back and firing. Maffra will be bolstered by the return of powerhouse forward Justin Bramich and classy playmaker Cam Streeter. Warragul lost the corresponding match in round five by 117 points and Maffra should prevail this time by 40 points.
Garfield reversed the form guide when it beat Morwell last week and the Stars will be aiming for backtoback wins when they travel to Leongatha. The return of Matt Cunningham, Danny O’Brien and Dean McFarlane in recent weeks has provided the Stars with better balance and, complemented by the emergence of Ben and Tom Marsh, Ryan Munro and Zeke Hower, who have become real game breakers. It been an abysmal season for Leongatha but it still has something to play for – the avoidance of the wooden spoon. Garfield must be wary of Leongatha, which has played with renewed spirit of late and its loss last week to Sale was full of merit, but the Stars should prevail by 30 points.
Drouin will host this season’s ladder leader Sale. On form the Hawks will go in rank outsiders. The Magpies have marched over everyone except Maffra this season and only complacency could beat Sale. Drouin is on a steep learning curve with a charter to rebuild for next season and the best it can hope for in front of its home supporters is a respectable showing. Drouin has topline footballers in Kent Edwards, Bob McCallum, Danny Murphy and Jordy Edwards, but little about the supporting cast looks adequate. The Hawks will do well if they can keep the margin to less than 100 points.
Fifth spot will be at stake when Morwell, at home, takes on Traralgon.
The Tigers will be out to arrest a form slump and, in contrast the Maroons, are showing signs that they are nearing their best. Traralgon is starting to look menacing and I’ll tip it win comfortably.
The weekend’s fixtures, with likely winners in capitals, are: Morwell v TRARALGON, LEONGATHA v Garfield, Drouin v SALE, Warragul v MAFFRA, Moe bye.
Wise beyond his years, Gentile shows the way
Peter Gentile may only be 24-years-old, but his leadership and seniority within the Narre Warren premiership side was evident for all to see.
Returning...
