WITHOUT a doubt, this Saturday’s Round 12 game between fierce local rivals Wonthaggi and Leongatha at Wonthaggi shapes as the match-up of the 2023 season.
The two clubs have a lot of history between them, adding to the allure of the contest, but this year they appear to be very evenly matched; Wonthaggi on a steep improvement curve and Leongatha building again towards the form that has set them apart from the Gippsland League competition over the past few years.
Their Round 2 contest at Leongatha was an absolute classic, with Wonthaggi determined not to allow Leongatha to get off to the withering start that had been a feature of the match at Parrot Park the previous year but after a strong opening by the Power, scores were level at half time and it was a pure footy grind from there to the finish.
Early in the last quarter, Wonthaggi stretched its lead beyond a goal when the coach Jarryd Blair set Ryan Sparkes on his way to goal but two hardworking responses by Jack Hume and Aaron Heppell put Leongatha up by a couple of points and in a defensive finish, that’s where it stayed – Leongatha the winner, but honestly, nothing in it.
Both sides have made subtle adjustments since then, but the ingredients are there for another cracker of a contest.
Both teams have boosted their fire power up forward with Jack Ginnane resuming his key role in attack for the Parrots and Cooper McInnes adding another dimension to the Power up front.
Wonthaggi have also added bite at the stoppages and around the ground with the addition of talented local youngster Brodie Mabilia, in many ways a similar player to Leongatha’s Luke Bowman who comes back in this week; tall, agile, skilled and a hard match-up for the opposition.
And where Kyle Reid has continued to impress across half back for Wonthaggi, Leongatha have been delighted with the work of Guy Dickson in a similar capacity.
And as solid as the Power’s defence has been in the past couple of years, they’ve found a role back there in recent weeks for Jordan Staley, who has had considerable success on the opposition’s best goal kickers, holding Moe’s Bill Gowers to three before the bye, one of those from a 50-metre penalty and another from a long bomb from 60 metres out.
It’s on the cards that Staley’s opponent on Saturday could even be Leongatha’s Jack Ginnane, an interesting match-up given what has transpired between the two.
Wonthaggi has made only one change for the match, clearly a forced change with defender Shannon Bray normally one of the first selected. He will be replaced by Jakeb Thomas, who makes a welcome return.
Leongatha has made three changes: In come Jake van der Pligt, Luke Bowman and promising youngster Hayden Lindsay for his first senior game, sure to be a baptism of fire at Wonthaggi on Saturday. Out goes Trent McRae, Steve Forrester, and Cam Olden returns to Richmond.
The two teams come into the match in good form, Wonthaggi turning the tables on Moe in Round 11 after a Round 3 loss to the Lions and Leongatha having good hitouts against Warragul and Sale before the bye.
The way the two teams play on Saturday will provide a good indication, still with another six rounds to play, of how their preparations are sitting ahead of this year’s finals.
But both sides will know that Moe might yet disappoint both of them as they too look to be building to something special in 2023.
Get along to Wonthaggi on Saturday to see a fine exhibition of country football and netball with the Reserves match also likely to be entertaining between 1st (Leongatha) and 3rd (Wonthaggi) on the ladder.
