By DAVID NAGEL
CASEY CARDINIA FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 8
PAKENHAM v CRANBOURNE
CRANBOURNE return to the scene of a heinous crime on Saturday when the Eagles take on Pakenham in the Casey Cardinia match-of-the-day.
One could excuse the Eagles for shedding a tear or two – or at the very least becoming a little bit shaky – as they drive into Toomuc Reserve… the scene of what will long be remembered as “The Great Football Robbery”.
The Eagles produced one of the greatest performances in their club history on September 21 last year, but a Quirky end to one of the great grand finals saw them fall agonisingly short of their second premiership in three years.
But that’s a story for the history books – now is the time to find out whether the Eagles still hold an edge over one of their nearest rivals.
Pakenham has continually closed the gap on the Eagles since Doug Koop and his boys inflicted a 163-point flogging of the Lions, in Round 3, 2012. That was a significant wake-up call for the football club as a whole; it signalled the end of Chris Connelly’s miserable three-game coaching career at the Lions and set them on the path to look for a new leader.
And they found their man.
Steve O’Bryan’s first crack at Cranbourne saw the Lions downed by eight goals, a margin they cut to just nine points when the two sides last met in Round 17 last year. They’re closing in, but, the big question remains, have they improved any on last year?There are no more excuses for the Lions this Saturday, with nearly a full list to choose from they host a Cranbourne side that may be missing some of its biggest stars. A midweek test will decide whether Marc Holt takes to the field while ball-winning machine Curtis Barker is likely to miss one more week with a groin.
Throw in the suspect fitness of Ryan Davey and Leigh Holt – who both returned from lengthy spells against Doveton last week – and the Eagles seem ripe for the picking.
Both teams are very good down back, especially in the key defensive roles, with Brandon Osborne and Stuart Morrish for the Eagles, and Nathan Brown and Stephen Morey for the Lions, sure to make life difficult for the key forwards.
It’s just where that extra spread of goals will come from that will make all the difference on the weekend.
The Eagles have Michael Theodoridis, Max Gearon, and speedy duo Luke Bee-Hugo and Ryan Jones who can hit the scoreboard, while O’Bryan, Dom Paynter, Russ Lehman and Cory Lenders can get the job done if full-forward Daniel Fry is held by Osborne.
It seems that accountability through the midfield will play a huge part in who comes out on top.
This one is almost a toss of the coin, with the Lions out to earn respect and the Eagles out to bury the hatchet at Toomuc.
It’ll be close, but the Eagles will get home by 13 points.
TOORADIN v BEACONSFIELD
EXPECT a fired-up Tooradin to hit the ground running when the Seagulls welcome Beaconsfield to Westernport Oval on Saturday.
Expect it because they have some making up to do!
The Seagulls were fairly but physically mauled by Berwick in the first quarter last week – and that’s what cost them any chance of victory. The Wickers looked quicker and harder, and were first to the pill, and exposed the Seagulls when it was hot.
Apart from Matthew Wade, it was the Seagulls youngsters who impressed most, with Brad Lenders and Jordan Kelly showing promise as defenders and Cam and Josh Brown keeping their feet well at the contest.
The Seagulls face ROC, Hampton Park and Doveton after this clash, so a win could really set up a momentum-building part of the season.
Beaconsfield has found some form in recent weeks and will look to continue that on Saturday and into a crucial part of the year. Games against Pakenham, Berwick and Narre Warren are all on the horizon and will be the main indicators as to where their ‘high water mark’ settles in September.
Tyson Mitchem and Kris Fletcher have provided a touch of class around goals, while the form of Scott Meyer and key defenders Shaun Pollard and Daniel Battaglin should be enough to ensure victory.
It’s the Eagles by 29 points.
KEYSBOROUGH v ROC
IF THE old saying holds true – that you start the next game as you finished the last – then expect a very poor first quarter when Keysborough play host to ROC on Saturday.
Both teams didn’t exactly set the house on fire with their latest efforts, the Burra held to just one point in the final term against Beaconsfield, while the lively-Kangaroos became stuffed toys as Narre Warren went on a 15-goal bender in the last quarter at Starling Road.
Both teams need to wipe those thoughts from their heads right now as they enter competitive parts of their seasons.
The Kangaroos are exciting – but they have quickly become harder to read than a book on Chinese arithmetic.
How can a team, a team that’s best football can match it with any side in the competition, fall off the face of the earth in such a hurry? It’s puzzling… yeah… it’s just puzzling!
You almost expect it from the Kangaroos’ youngsters, but experienced types like Ben Tivendale, Andrew Logan, Chris Potalej and Tony Vanin need to band together and take control in those circumstances.
The Kangaroos have this one in their own hands. If they play their best footy, they win, but if they mentally disintegrate as they did last week then the Burra’s best, like Geoff Humphreys, Glenn Hawthorn and Tim Werner will make them pay.
The Kangas will win by 21 points.
NARRE WARREN v DOVETON
PRIDE is the number one commodity of the Doveton Football Club at the moment and something it will need to bring, by the truck-load, when the Doves take on the might of Narre Warren at Fox Road on Saturday.
Whether you love‘em or hate‘em, you just can’t help but admire the way the Doves have gone about their footy this year. Under-manned against most teams, Shannon Henwood and his boys have devised a game-plan, based on defence, and a chip around style, that makes others accountable.
It frustrates, it torments… but best of all it’s the plan that suits his cattle best.
This week, players who have really stood up over the last few weeks, like Jake Mullen, Henwood, Frank D’Agostino and Mitch Viney will be put to the ultimate test. The scoreboard will get ugly, but how the Doves respond will be the real test of their spirit.
Narre just keep soldiering on, remarkable really when you consider what a slight drop in intensity did for three-quarters against ROC last week. It brought two teams, miles apart in ability, close together, and proves what a wonderful effort it’s been to keep its 43-game winning streak alive.
The Magpies are just too good and will win in a canter.
BERWICK v HAMPTON PARK
REALLY good teams – you know – the ones that win premierships, they are ruthless, and it’s why Berwick needs to keep its foot on the throttle when it welcomes Hampton Park to Edwin Flack Reserve on Saturday.
The Wickers are talented – we all know that – but they need to match the top-two in setting standards that are abided to on a weekly basis. Bad habits can creep in quickly, that you don’t recognise until the real pressure is applied.
But there’s too much motivation in this group for that to happen.
Surely the experienced, not old, but experienced blokes like Nathan Waite, Jason Kelly, Paul Vanschilt and Michael Manley have been around football clubs long enough to know opportunities like this don’t come around too often.
It’s important they set the example in games like this and push the young guns to keep giving their best.
Hampton Park has some serious talent of its own, with Nathan Dawes, Nathan Allen and Peter Bastin all week-to-week warriors who will challenge the Wickers all the way.
But it will still be a triple-figure margin at the final siren.
