WGLFL round 18 preview

By Ken Moore
BY 5pm on Saturday Drouin will breathe a sigh of relief and put a disappointing year behind it.
Despite the home ground advantage, the Hawks have a tough assignment to finish the season when they meet Maffra, who are in such good shape that they rested midfielder Ben Coleman and rugged defender Sam Bristow last week.
Drouin still has plenty of incentive, for if it could somehow manage to conjure a win it would avoid the wooden spoon.
Interest for Drouin supporters will centre on the performances of its upandcomers.
The likes of tall utility Marty Phillips, Brett Masterton, Jayson Barwick, Joel Beckman and Jay Barr all loom as likely prospects, and their performance may provide Hawk supporters with an indication of where the team is heading next season.
Garfield faces an uphill battle in what could be its last game in the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League when it meets Traralgon at Catani.
There was a lot to like about both sides last week, both playing some of their best football for the season and going down narrowly to their respective opponents Warragul and Traralgon.
With ruckman Tom Marsh and Ben Marsh, Shaun Pickering and Dean McFarlane in top form, the Stars midfield is a tough unit and finds plenty of the ball.
If Garfield is to cause a boilover it must convert its possessions into goals, something it hasn’t done all season against the top sides.
It is bound to be a lowscoring affair and Traralgon is unlikely to falter on the eve of the finals and should get across the line with a hardfought 25 point victory.
Warragul was made to earn victory over Garfield last week, but credit to Guls for getting the points in what was always going to be a danger game.
This week Warragul will venture down the Princes Highway to meet Morwell which still has a minuscule chance of making the finals.
The Guls have to height to match up well against the Tigers and proven performers in Desi Barr, Nick Edney, Ryan Davey and John Reid.
The good news for Warragul is the return of livewire goal sneak Kael Bergles and the improvement of robust forward Bryce Monahan.
Warragul is keen to enter the final series on a positive note and should get the four points by a slender margin.
Leongatha will finish the season hoping to squeeze out a home ground upset victory over Moe however, with Adam Kennedy, Stuart Robertson, Jason Shields and Dean Caldow playing well, Moe will have too much potency in attack.
The weekend’s fixtures, with likely winners in capitals: Garfield v TRARALGON, Drouin v MAFFRA, Leongatha v MOE, Morwell v WARRAGUL.