By Ken Moore
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:LONGWARRY v LANG LANG
HAVING fought hard to secure sixth spot on the ladder, Longwarry will be hell bent on retaining its position when it welcomes Lang Lang.
Aside from the Crows’ ordinary round 14 effort when trounced by Nar Nar Goon their form over the previous month was very good. Last week Longwarry recaptured its best and produced a spellbinding first quarter and if it can reproduce similar form it will be hard to toss.
Lang Lang suffered a major blow last week when coach Clint Evans appeared to have broken his foot and his season is now over. The Tigers are down on quality midfielders and against a team like Longwarry that is blessed with midfield runners, Lang Lang can ill afford his loss.
At home and with a finals position to preserve Longwarry should win with a fair bit in reserve.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:NEERIM NEERIM SOUTH v NAR NAR GOON
AFTER being belted by Cora Lynn last home game, Neerim Neerim South will be out to show supporters it can measure up against the better sides when it meets Nar Nar Goon.
The Goon is guaranteed a finals berth and if it rests on its laurels it may be in for a surprise because occasionally the Cats put in an extra good performance as they did in round 14 when they shocked Warragul Industrials.
Neerim Neerim South remains a source of frustration for coach Dean Hendrickse. The Cats again showed their true ability by pushing Nilma-Darnum for three quarters last week and for a team that can do that, five wins this season is a meagre return.
The competition for a place in the Goon senior team should be enough to ensure its players keep focused long enough to get across the line but the end margin may not be much more than 20 points.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:CORA LYNN v POOWONG
CORA Lynn has worked hard to hold second position on the ladder and the threat of Catani stealing it on the eve of the finals will ensure the Cobras maintain the pressure over all four quarters against Poowong.
Cora Lynn will eagerly monitor the fitness of star spearhead Darren Sheen during the week. The double century-scoring spearhead badly injured his ankle early in last week’s match against Nyora and was in a great deal of pain and did not reappear after half time.
He must be extremely doubtful and this presents the Cobras with a big problem because their other star forward, Ryan Donaldson, is still carrying a nagging ankle injury and has not taken the field over the past two weeks.
If Cora Lynn has an off day and Poowong plays at its optimum level, a Magpie win is not a without a chance. The home side will have the better motivation and with a superior midfield should win by about 30 points.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:BULN BULN v CATANI
BULN Buln will play its last home game for the season against Catani. Most teams, especially those on the lower rungs of the ladder, like to fire up with a big effort in their last home game to give their fans some optimism to carry over summer but the Lyrebirds seems too far off the pace to deliver a surprise win this week.
Buln Buln looked to be running on empty until last week when it pushed Nar Nar Goon for three quarters and that effort will give supporters some heart. Catani had a major scare last week and only fell over the line against Bunyip and will need to improve significantly if it is to last beyond the first week of the finals in two week’s time.
The Blues were missing ruckman Phil Smith, star forward Luke James, ruck-rover Aaron Alger and reliable small defender Luke McFarlane against the Bulldogs and without them they looked a mediocre side.
The bad news for Buln Buln is this quartet is expected to return and, still looking at snaring second position, Catani is unlikely to show any mercy and should win comfortably.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:BUNYIP v NYORA
AFTER six straight losses Bunyip will be out to repair its reputation when it hosts Nyora. The Bulldogs were terrific last week against Catani and dug deep but they will have pulled up sore because all 21 players put their bodies on the line and did not flinch a contest.
Because of its desperately unlucky one-point loss to the Blues, Bunyip must win this week and next week against Lang Lang and by a hefty margin and hope Longwarry drops its last two remaining matches if it is to regain sixth spot.
Apart from last week, the Bulldogs had been playing poorly but it is still hard to mount a case for a Nyora victory. Aside from a big day out against Ellinbank, the Saints form has been miserable. Nyora often starts well and will probably make the Bulldogs sweat it out early before the home side pull well clear after half-time.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:WARRAGUL INDUSTRIALS v KOOWEERUP
WARRAGUL Industrials’ home-ground clash against Kooweerup has lost a bit of gloss after the Demons finals hopes disintegrated with last Saturday’s bad loss to Longwarry.
While a loss would not see the Industrials drop out of the top six, coach Wade McGill will drill home to his charges the importance of winning to ensure they do not lose any momentum in the lead-up to the finals in two weeks and this message should keep the Dusties honest enough to bag a win.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:NILMA-DARNUM v ELLINBANK
A VISIT from Ellinbank may pose a little nuisance value but nothing more for Nilma-Darnum. The Bombers’ form is hard to fault and they possess enough experience to guard against complacency.
The Bankers were out of step for most of the season but have got into bit of a stride over the past month and the margin will be well and truly less than their round five encounter when the Bombers won by 185 points.
