By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 7
WHEN opportunity comes knocking, who will step up and open that door?
This week, in a super Saturday of EDFL footy, two standout leaders will emerge from the pack of the top four sides as top-of-the-ladder Kooweerup hosts Bunyip, and the Warragul Industrials – in third spot – visit the Cobras, in fourth.
Under the return of the final six format – as opposed to last year’s top eight – whichever side loses the clash between Cora Lynn and the Industrials will fall two games adrift of the top side. Only two teams this season will get the double chance.
Kooweerup player-coach Ben Collins knows exactly what’s on the line when the Bulldogs head to Denhams Road this Saturday afternoon.
“Coming into the league I really didn’t know too much except for Cora Lynn and Bunyip playing in last year’s grand final,” he said.
“Bunyip is probably a little in front of the pack but they’re like us in the way they play – they’re very team-oriented and they’ve got a defensive mindset.”
Collins has instilled a real sense of self-belief and confidence into his players this season. The know that if they’re on their game, they can take it up to – and beat – any other team in the competition.
But they also know what needs to be done to secure the four points.
“The way footy has gone, if you don’t play defence first you won’t get anywhere,” Collins said.
“And we know that the top side we’ve played so far is Neerim South, who are fifth on the ladder.
“But I believe in what we’re doing.”
Collins said his side can’t wait for the tests to come over their next five games, where they’ll face Bunyip, the Dusties, Nilma Darnum and Cora Lynn after the bye.
“I don’t know a hell of a lot about Bunyip, but I do know they’re proven and we’re not yet,” he added.
The Demons’ discipline has been rock-solid all season to date, but is about to face its toughest test in the next stretch of games.
Still, they’re confident they have the talent to match it with anyone.
Collins said his brother Mitch – the breakaway leader in the EDFL’s goal kicking tally with 43 through just six games – and another of the side’s key targets up forward, Daniel Calteri, had typically performed well in big games, and they’ll need to this week against one of the stingiest backlines in the competition.
“(But) we’re very mindful not to be too Mitch-focused,” said the Demons coach, who will also have to share the workload up forward this week along with the likes of Calteri, Steven Greaves, and Rian Healy.
The Demons have a versatile list on paper – with a number of players that can be thrown both forward and back, as well as being rotated through the midfield – but they haven’t yet had to showcase that versatility. This weekend might be the time.
“If we can get up this week that’d be huge for us,” Collins said.
“This is a massive opportunity.”
Ben Dadswell has recently joined great mate Collins and the Demons from South Belgrave and could play a key role this week alongside the likes of Ben Kerrigan, Brodie Yapp, and Tim and Ben Miller who are all fresh off interleague campaigns.
But the Bulldogs need to find their own way past the Demons’ backline, which is behind only the Dusties in points conceded so far this season.
“With the strength of the competition this season, you need to keep your win-loss ratio as high as possible,” said Bunyip player-coach Brad Walker in the lead-up to this week’s blockbuster.
“The significance this year is that only two sides get the double chance and there are probably six sides that could still finish in the top two at this stage.”
Walker acknowledged that the Cobras were “probably” off their game when the two sides clashed in Round 6. The Bulldogs can’t expect the same from the fired-up Demons this week.
“That’s not to take anything away from that game (against Cora Lynn) but we’re expecting a full-strength side this week and potentially their best side,” Walker said, adding that the Demons have a midfield the calibre of which could possibly be the best in the competition.
But they Dogs will have their work cut out at both ends of the ground too, with Mitch Collins leading the way at one end and the likes of Craig Dyker, Ben Miller and Yapp at the other.
Livewire Jack Blakey will likely miss this week with his hamstring complaint, while wingman Michael Laszczyk is over his and is set to play. Ruckman Bernie Jones and the strong-bodied Adam Rakip and Marc Jolley are also possibilities to come into the Bunyip side.
In a 50-50 contest in every sense of the term, Kooweerup should be just too strong at home this week. At this stage of the season they’ve got that little bit more to prove, and have the firepower to test the hugely-impressive Bunyip backline like it’s yet to be tested this season.
Speaking of 50-50 contests, Cora Lynn and the Dusties take centre stage on Saturday night in a stand-alone blockbuster at the Cobradome.
The home side has the immediate opportunity for redemption after its disappointing performance against Bunyip, and for the first time in a long time will have the added motivation of coming off a loss.
“It’s going to be a great test for both us and the Dusties after we both lost to Bunyip,” said Cobras player-coach David Main.
“They’re the clear front-runners of the competition so far.”
But Main’s focus has switched well and truly to the task at hand against the Dusties this week.
“We’ve got a bit of a rivalry with them,” he said.
“We’ve had the wood over them the last few times we’ve played them but they’re a real in-and-under side and I expect it to be a physical hit-out.
“We’d like to think we’ve got the mental edge but they’ve got some great inclusions this season.
“Tye Holland is a champion of the competition and of our area, and they’ve got the likes of Shane Brewster and Jimmy Bradshaw still there as well.”
Main said his side had to keep a close eye on danger man Jay Wells in the Dusties’ forward 50, as well as the likes of Josh Peterson who set up so well behind the ball in the midfield.
“The Dusties pride themselves on being hard at the footy, trying to get it forward quickly, and owning the corridor,” Main said.
“The new test for us is how we respond (to the Bunyip game).
“Yes, we’re a new side but we’ve got a point to prove – that we’re still up there with the best sides in the competition.”
The Dusties have their own point to prove. Only once in player-coach Shane Brewster’s seven years at the club have they knocked off Cora Lynn, and he’s had enough of it.
“We want to get the footy in our hands and not get dictated to by Cora Lynn,” he said.
“It’s been six years since we’ve beaten them.”
Brewster said that while his side was not yet playing its best football this season, it was still doing enough to win games.
“Like we did in the Bunyip game, we need to just come out ready to play and be competitive for the whole four quarters,” he said.
“This week is no different to that one.
“We need to make sure we’re playing our own game.”
Brewster touched on some of the quality in the Cobras side, including Nathan and Ryan Gillis, Nathan Muratore, and Ricky Clark – who he said is “probably one of the best players I’ve ever played with or against, in all forms of footy”.
“They really fill every facet across the ground and we have to get those match-ups right,” Brewster said.
“But we’ve got the chance against a side that has won the last two premierships and is fighting for a chance at is third in a row.
“We have to use our run and be attacking, but we have to also limit their midfield’s contribution and make them scrap it forward rather than them getting clear use.”
Brewster said his side would relish the opportunity to play under lights on the big stage this week, adding “the more games you play in a finals-like atmosphere the better, especially for the young blokes.
“A bad quarter, or even just a bad five minutes and you can really get torn apart against these top sides.
“These games are high-pressure and they’re the sort of ones you want to be involved in.”
The Dusties won’t get a better opportunity to reverse their horror run of form over the Cobras, and we’re predicting they might just pinch one this week in an absolute thriller.
In the other games of the round, Buln Buln should be too strong at home against Longwarry; Catani should bounce back from a horror outing at Neerim South to defeat Lang Lang; Garfield will storm to a big win over Ellinbank; Nar Nar Goon will do likewise against Poowong; and Nilma Darnum should soundly account for Nyora. Neerim Neerim South has the bye.
