ROC captain Clint Williams takes a strong mark on Saturday. Williams must inspire his team mates to
AFTER all the hard work across a long and competitive season, ROC is now doing its best to miss the finals and start its postseason holidays at the start of September.
This weekend’s clash with thirdplaced Doveton will tell both Kangaroos’ coach Hayden Stanton and the side’s Casey Cardinia League rivals how much the lads from Starling Road want to be part of the finals’ action.
The Doves have had an interesting season to say the least with a combination of injuries to key players and the odd attitude malfunction keeping the coaching hierarchy on its toes.
However, the Doves have still managed to win ‘ugly’ games and retain their top three position, now under serious threat from Hampton Park.
ROC has not beaten a team above it on the ladder and with three games to play has the best opportunity it will ever get to rectify that situation.
The Kangaroos have the tall timber to stretch the Doves and enough running power to match the home team around the ground, but selfbelief is the greatest asset any football team can have and that’s ROC’s short suit.
I’m tipping the Kangaroos to be outside the five looking in, after this weekend’s round.
For that to happen Keysborough andor Beaconsfield will need to triumph.
The Burra looks the most likely to do that, but they had better not get too far ahead of themselves, given the game is at the unfamiliar Casey Fields.
Cranbourne’s improvement has been steady this season and the talented young team will give their last three opponents a hard way to go on form.
However, Keysborough has the talent to stretch any opponent and should be able to cover the home side’s matchwinners for long enough to take the win and slide into fifth position.
Hampton Park will be out to avenge its firstround loss to Beaconsfield.
The Booth Reserve is never an easy place for any opponent to visit, but the Eagles will have the incentive of maintaining a sniff of finals as its motivation, together with the mental edge gained from their first meeting.
The Redbacks must not allow last weekend’s walk in the park against Dingley to affect its focus, but it also has the lure of a possible top three spot to drive it on and that, plus a dominant forward line, should see the Redbacks home.
Tradition should be the driving force in the clash between Pakenham and Tooradin, but the way the Seagulls played last week, there might be little coach and former Lion Dan O’Loughlin can do to stop another onslaught.
Put simply, the Seagulls were pathetic and unless there is a serious turnaround in attitude, the Lions, boosted by the inclusion of Gippsland Power stars Tyson Goldsack and Ricky Delphine, will do a number on them.
Speaking of doing a number, lord help Devon Meadows against Narre Warren.
The Magpies hit finalslike form last weekend and will tune up for the finals against the bottom two teams in the next fortnight, starting with the Panthers.
The Devon Meadows youngsters will try hard, but this will just be another chapter in their education and a demonstration of the level required to be a contender.
Dingley visits the Edwin Flack Reserve for the last time and will find a newly confident Berwick waiting for it.
What results from that will depend on the attitude of the Wickers.
Dingley will battle away and try hard, but if Berwick decides that it’s ‘showtime’ and gets the ball quickly to spearhead Ryan Donaldson, the scorers will have RSI by the end of the day.
