By DAVID NAGEL
SOUTH EAST FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 10
BEACONSFIELD v DOVETON
TAKE a giant step towards playing finals or become the team with a target on its back for the lower reaches of the competition, that’s what’s at stake when Beaconsfield host Doveton at Holm Park Reserve on Saturday.
These two are clearly the most vulnerable teams in the top five right now, both with 100 per cent winning records against those below them on the ladder but with fluctuating fortunes against the top three.
Beaconsfield defeated Doveton at Robinson Oval in Round 4 but has been non-competitive, losing by 50, 47 and 69, against premiership favourites Berwick, Narre Warren and Cranbourne.
Doveton, on the other hand, has claimed a major scalp, defeating Narre Warren in a thriller in Round 2, but has also been towelled up by last year’s grand finalists at its only two attempts.
So where does that leave us this week?
The difference between these two sides in Round 4 came down to the Eagles having a focal point up forward, with Beau Dowler kicking four, and being able to clog the Doves up when they had the advantage of a four-to-five goal wind.
Dowler had some solid support that day from Chris Worner (3 goals), who has since hung up the boots, but will be looking at a different support cast this weekend.
Into the side comes former Western Bulldogs star, Daniel Giansiracusa, who kicked six goals in his last outing for the club, and Daniel Battaglin, who missed the last clash against the Doves through injury.
The two Johnstons, Damien and Daniel, should also be available giving the Eagles an almost full-strength line up. Coach Clint Evans knows exactly what’s on the line this weekend.
“It’s a massive game for us, we’ve got a tough run after the bye (Round 11) so it’s really important that we put a gap between ourselves and the rest of the competition looking for a finals berth,” Evans said.
He also pin-pointed an area of the game that will need to improve significantly from last week’s poor performance against Cranbourne.
“We got smashed at the stoppages, they (Cranbourne) were just bigger and stronger than us and that’s an area we need to get better at as a whole,” Evans said.
“And it becomes especially important with Russ Gabriel in their side, he’s brilliant at those stoppages around the ground.”
As usual, the battle in the ruck between Gabriel and Scott Meyer will be crucial to the final outcome. Meyer overcame a slow start to just pip Gabriel on points in that first collision this season and their contest is sure to be a highlight once again.
Doveton just struggles to kick goals, Mitch Pierce and Ryan Hendy top the list with 10, with Nick Battle the next best with six. Players like Darren Allen, Travis Davis and midfielders Michael Henry and Sam Raru will need to contribute this week for the Doves to kick a winning score.
It will be tight, it will be tough, but it’s Beacy to make it two from two against the Doves by 11 points.
PAKENHAM v CRANBOURNE
CRANBOURNE will be fully aware that it will need to be at the top of its game when the Eagles make the dangerous trip to Toomuc Reserve to take on Pakenham.
Simon Goosey and his side only have to look back a little over 12 months to remember their last home-and-away defeat of 2015.
It came against the Lions at this very venue by 16 points, the forerunner to an unbeaten 11-game turnaround by the Eagles.
And, just like last year, the Eagles head to Toomuc in red-hot form this time around.
They have been brilliant at their last two outings, destructive under lights against Doveton before giving Beaconsfield a contested-ball lesson at Casey Fields last week.
Players like Max Gearon, Shaun Marusic, Mat Fletcher and Ryan Davey love nothing better than getting down and dirty, providing runners like Luke Bee-Hugo, Aaron Bower, Dylan Cavalot and Ryan Jones with an enormous amount of the footy.
But Pakenham can hurt you the other way too.
Russ Lehman, Dean Blake, Damien Holmes, Anthony Young and Luke Walker can cut teams to ribbons if allowed to run, precisely what’s needed to break free of the Cranbourne press.
Ruckman Kym Jones was almost back to his last week against Berwick, and if he can repeat the dose the Lions are a lot closer to producing an upset than what many people might think.
But it’s just a matter of producing it for four quarters. The Lions have matched it with Narre Warren and Berwick recently, but a 15-minute drop in intensity has proved costly on both occasions.
The Lions can win this … but they won’t … it’s the Eagles by 17 points.
TOORADIN-DALMORE v OFFICER
NOTHING much will separate Tooradin and Officer when the Seagulls and Kangaroos square off in a real flip-of-the-coin job at Westernport Oval on Saturday.
You’d be hard-pressed to identify two more evenly matched sides in the competition this year, both mixing moments of promise with performances they’d like to forget.
Two of the Seagulls last three outings have been competitive, a four-goal loss to Berwick and a 15-point close one with Doveton, but in between the wheels fell off against Beaconsfield (99 points).
But they are on the improve.
Skipper Adam Galea will be better for the run against the Doves, while Nathan Page and Rory Hillis added some much-needed grunt through the midfield.
The battle in the ruck will be crucial this weekend, with Ben Wilson taking on the imposing figure of Officer big-man Dylan Chapman.
The Kangaroos strong-man is finally starting to gain a reputation to match his output, and if he can provide Blair Allan, Chris Larosa, James Canty and Brenton Cowell with enough supply, a repeat of the Kangaroos 33-point victory from round five could certainly be on the cards.
This one will come down to the dying seconds and that burning desire to turn a disappointing season around will see the Seagulls get home by two points.
HAMPTON PARK v NARRE WARREN
DON’T expect any favours from Narre Warren on Saturday when the Magpies make the trip to Robert Booth Reserve to take on Hampton Park.
Coach Heath Black summed up his feelings about these top versus bottom clashes after his Magpies had kicked 9.5 to 1.1 in the first quarter against the Redbacks in round five.
“When you come up against teams that are ranked lowly on the ladder they come in with a whatever it takes type attitude, so it’s important to put your stamp on proceedings early” Black said.
“We were very, very strict with the boys that we started with our full intensity. We jumped out of the blocks really well and the four points were basically ours by quarter time.”
So how does Hampton Park guard against a repeat performance this weekend?
Surely they have to be ready for it and its senior players need to lead the way.
It starts with Billy Thomas in the ruck, feeds down to players like Jordan Derbyshire, Sean Winsall, Nathan Dawes and Cory Phillips, and ends with emerging players who seemed to have been around a long time now in Luke O’Brien and Aaron Holden.
They need to build their resistance for the challenges that lay ahead.
But it will be difficult this week because Narre Warren is emerging as one of the most exciting teams to watch in the competition.
Their flexibility is becoming their strength, with Jordyn Flannery, Jake Richardson, Andrew Hunter and Jarrod Dalton all capable of playing key roles at either end of the park.
Expect the Redbacks to hold on tight early, but be blown away by 94 points at the final siren.
Berwick has the bye.
