Parrots coach expects battle royal in the midfield

LEONGATHA are no slouches when it comes to midfield talent, where the Parrots’ captain Tom Marriott has capped off a stellar year with the league medal.

And they have a wealth of other players who can go through there as well including Jake Van Der Pligt, Luke Bowman, Kim Drew, Ned Hanily and others with Ben Willis, Jackson Harry and Justin Pellicano among those who can share the rucking duties.

But Leongatha coach Trent McMicking is equally wary of Sale’s ability to get the game on their terms and while he has acknowledged their talent front and back, he rates the Pies’ midfield as elite.

Here’s how he is approaching the big game on Saturday at Moe.

“Absolutely, it’s great to have finals footy back after virtually three years out and you just had to look around at the faces at training on Thursday night to see the excitement that it can bring. It’s a special time and we’re just really looking forward to it.”

Speaking about the season, McMicking said there had been plenty of challenges.

“Yes, certainly a feature of our year has been the depth in the squad. We’ve had to play 40 different players in the Seniors this year as blokes were unavailable for whatever reason but the ones that have come in have been able to play their role really well which has been a credit to the work everyone has done.

“Having the full squad on the track right through has been a plus for sure, and there would be eight or more that could have quite easily have come in and done the job for us.”

McMicking noted the tremendous depth of talent in the Sale side, focussing on the midfield with the likes of Jack Johnstone, Shannen Lange, Cooper Whitehill, Jayden Allison and Jack McLaren going through there, well served by the ‘team of the year’ ruckman Jack Leslie.

“They’re stacked with talent. It’s a midfield that could go up against anyone, anywhere. It’s a real challenge for us.

“They’ve also got a terrific defence as well with Pendlebury and Leslie back there and Mitch Thacker is another one.

“And they’ve got a big guy up forward as well in Brad Dessent who marks and kicks really well. He’s a great target for them.”

Asked about his benchmarks for his own team on the day, McMicking said he felt the midfield battle would be a feature.

“Look, we’d like to be able to win the midfield or at least break even and we’ll need a good contest against their ruckman Jack Leslie who’s a real strength for them.

“Our defensive game and pressure will be a big one too but when we do get the ball, we’ll be hoping to get our running and passing game going as well.”

Asked if he thought the cool, windy, occasionally wet weather predicted for the day would be a factor, he said the Moe ground was up to it.

“We played Moe on a wet day over there and it’s a ground that does dry out very well as soon as it stops raining. I don’t expect it to be an issue with how the game is played.”

So, the game may not be won or lost in the midfield, as they say, where the teams are very evenly matched, but exactly how it pans out is anyone’s guess.