It's all on the line this week in Mid Gippy
IT’S right at the pointy end of the season for some clubs in Mid Gippsland this weekend, with wins a must even to keep faint finals’ hopes alive. Realistically, only Stony Creek or Yinnar, of the teams outside the ‘top six’, have any chance...
IT’S right at the pointy end of the season for some clubs in Mid Gippsland this weekend, with wins a must even to keep faint finals’ hopes alive.
Realistically, only Stony Creek or Yinnar, of the teams outside the ‘top six’, have any chance of making the finals and for Stony, it comes down to beating the top team, one of their neighbouring clubs, Tarwin this Saturday at Tarwin.
The Sharks have been a study of consistency all season, so it’s hard to see them dropping one at this stage but certainly, the Lions will be motivated.
The hard-luck story of the competition, Yinnar, have the bye this weekend, but will be relying on Hill End being able to beat Morwell East to keep their hopes alive.
The Pies have lost three games by 4 points or less to Hill End, Mirboo North and Newborough in consecutive weeks, while defeating Boolarra by one in Round 12 and losing to Stony Creek by a point in Round 5.
The close losses and some big wins have left Yinnar with the huge percentage of 176.74, quite an incredible number for the eighth-ranked side and if they can get to that last game of the season against Morwell East, even four premiership points behind them, they could still dislodge them at the last moment.
Morwell East have three tough games to come against Hill End, old rivals Mirboo North and Yinnar and will need to win each week to be sure of a place in the finals.
But, all could easily be revealed after this Saturday’s round of games.
Mid Gippsland FNL Publicity Officer Rob Popplestone casts his eyes over the all-important 16th round:
Fish Creek v Foster
As good as Fish Creek have been, the Kangaroos will need to somehow be better than ever before to get over the top of an equally impressive Foster side this coming Saturday. July 30.
The Tigers raised the bar just a week ago when they signalled to the league they are genuine premiership contenders when defeating a good Newborough side on their home ground.
Sam Davies, Foster coach: "It’s nice for the playing group to see what our best looks like. Discipline and experience adds up. We are extremely keen to play Fishy away this week."
Fish Creek too, have been in super form with their late run of wins at the back of the season, a highlight that is sure to be tested to its fullest on the weekend.
John Danckert, Fish Creek coach: "Foster this week, they seem to be the form side of the competition but we look forward to taking them on our home deck."
The Kangaroos would like nothing more than to add the Tigers to their hit list, but it goes without saying they will need to be at their very best.
Foster would still have their sights set on a position a couple of rungs up the ladder from where they sit.
Remembering a top two finish means your first final is a clash for a direct route through to a grand final and at the moment we still have eight clubs fighting for that.
Mirboo North v Boolarra
Mirboo North, just a fortnight ago upset the finals aspirations of Yinnar when they defeated the Magpies against the odds.
That sort of effort will not only need to be replicated but improved on to get over a very good Boolarra outfit.
The Demons have answered every challenge confronted in season 2022 and the biggest mistake they could make, leading into this weekend, is to believe that Mirboo North is not a challenge.
The Demons have been good prior to the bye, winning, but also knowing they could be even better.
Tony Giardina, Boolarra coach: "The only thing keeping us from having a big win was our bad kicking for goal. A rest next week then Mirboo North away will be interesting."
With both teams coming off a bye, players and coaches are somewhat refreshed and ready to go again.
John Taylor, Mirboo North coach: "Handy having a bye this time of the year. and interesting results last weekend. We host Boolarra at home this week - although our year is done on making finals, we have three games left to build some momentum for next year. We have played around 10 to 12 guys each week under the age of 22 so it’s really important for these guys to hopefully start seeing a few more wins and keep building confidence. Hopefully we can change the ladder up a bit and be the villains.”
Villains are exactly what they would be too if they can get over the Demons this week.
A lot is riding on the last few weeks of the season for Boolarra and an unexpected loss for Boolarra would spell disaster for their current hold on second position.
Morwell East v Hill End
Morwell East look as though a finals spot has been locked away, but looks can sometimes be deceiving. The Hawks are far from where they need to be and if they happen to lose to Hill End this weekend, you get the feeling it will all come down to their final round clash with Yinnar in a few weeks’ time. You don’t want that!
Make no mistake, the Rovers will be keen to do what they did last week and that is break the heart of a team that has so much to play for, but who can’t get over what stands in their way right now.
Devon Soutar, Morwell East coach: "This week, the boys know exactly what’s at stake. We’ll need our very best to keep our finals destiny in our own hands."
What stands in their way is a very good Hill End outfit who have been finding ways to win despite still performing at short of their best.
Mike Santo, Hill End coach: “Talent still isn't our issue, it's concentration and a desire to work harder than our opponents. In saying that it's really encouraging to lock in a finals’ spot away with last week’s win.”
If Morwell East can find a way to win this weekend, a finals position will also be locked in, but it is going to take one of their better performances of the year.
Newborough v Thorpdale
Newborough gave up their second spot on the MGFNL ladder last week when they were defeated by Foster. Someone has to pay the price for that result and it's likely to be Thorpdale this weekend.
The Blues cannot take a trick this year, sometimes showing signs of what they are capable of, but more often than not also coming up against teams on the rebound and with plenty to prove.
The Bulldogs, if they are the side many believe they are, will respond with a merciless performance against an out-of-sorts Thorpdale side.
Craig Skinner, Newborough coach: "Sam and Foster earned their win last week and have some serious firepower up forward now. They will be the most dangerous come finals. We expect Thorpdale to throw the kitchen sink at us this week and look forward to the chance to respond."
The response from Thorpdale will be as interesting as that from Newborough. The Blues can play patches of good football, but that won't be good enough this weekend.
Ray Pickering, Thorpdale coach: “We have shown some great passages of footy but once again, can’t sustain it longer than a quarter. When we stick to the plan, we can more than hold our own!"
This week is the perfect opportunity for the Blues to actually show what they can do when they play four quarters, up against a really good side, away from home and with only a few opportunities left.
Tarwin v Stony Creek
With a week off under their belt, you can expect Tarwin to be refreshed and ready to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Newborough just a fortnight ago.
The Sharks will be keen to start to sharpen up their finals’ tilt in just a month’s time with a strong and ruthless performance against Stony Creek.
All that said, the Maroons have an ideal opportunity not only to take the scalp of the league leaders but also to edge closer to an unlikely finals berth.
Jay Acardi, Stony Creek coach: "A good result for Stony last week against Toora. We were able to control a lot of play but if you take the score line out of it, to the Toora boys’ credit, they didn’t give up and had a real dip all match. The job gets a fair bit tougher next week when we head to Tarwin.”
The Sharks are well aware of the importance of this clash for the visitors.
Troy Hemming, Tarwin coach: "We had a hard-earned rest last week! Now we regroup and play Stony Creek, who will have a full side in and playing to make finals so it’s a huge game for us! Last home game for the year!"
Stony Creek have crept up the ladder with little fanfare, but yet another victory this week against the well-credentialled Tarwin side, would have the Lions on the cusp of a finals’ berth, in many ways a just reward for what has been an honest season.
