By DAVID NAGEL
SOUTH EAST FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE PREVIEW – ROUND 12
NARRE WARREN v BEACONSFIELD
BEACONSFIELD will look to improve on its poor record against the top-three teams in the competition when the Eagles travel to Kalora Park to take on a red-hot Narre Warren on Saturday.
The Eagles have worked their way to 6-3 record to hold fourth position but those three losses have all been substantial against the cream of the crop.
Berwick got hold of them by 60 points in round one, Narre by 47 points in round three, before Cranbourne dished out a 69-point hiding in round nine.
Their next fortnight is their acid test with games against the Magpies and Berwick set to answer an important question.
Are they the real deal or simply pretenders in September?
The Eagles have a hard-working core group of midfielders with Daniel Mislicki, Jesse Linkins, Daniel Galante, Damien Szwaja and Josh Dodsworth all consistent performers in feeding Beau Dowler with plenty of opportunity up forward.
But he needs help!
The Eagles seem to have had a change of heart with interleague star Troy McDermott, a gun half forward over the last five years who started his season across half back.
TMac returned to the forward line for the Eagles last match against Doveton and kicked four goals to provide a real chop-out for Dowler.
McDermott is a proven goal-kicker with only Andrew Williams (170), Daniel Mislicki (164) and Luke McConnell (156) kicking more than his 147 goals in Eagles colours over the past 10 years.
But the big question mark for Clint Evans this week – and a huge relief for Heath Black – will be how does he cover the loss of champion ruckman Scott Meyer who will miss due to his selection in the Vic Country team to take on Vic Metro at Preston on Sunday.
Does Evans rob Peter to pay Paul, moving Jordan Roberts from a key defensive post into the ruck or does he bring Lachie Morrish back in to take on the Magpies’ big guys.
Morrish could probably handle the slighter body of Grant Lofthouse but if Jake Richardson starts charging like a raging bull through the centre circle then the Eagles may have to make the move.
This is a massive test for Beacy.
The Magpies have really savaged the scoreboard in recent times with Darren Sheen and Dean Kelly getting better as the weeks roll by.
The Magpies are potent all right, having clearly the best percentage in the league (187.93) -20 per cent clear of Cranbourne (167.46) and 30 per cent clear of Berwick (156.17).
Co-captain Dylan Quirk is controlling things at the stoppages, allowing Josh Tonna and Col McNamara to find space.
The Magpies hold their structures very well at the stoppages – if Beacy gets sucked into the ball the clearance count could get messy.
The Magpies pack too many guns – they’ll get the choccies by 43 points.
CRANBOURNE v DOVETON
THESE are two bona fide finals contenders coming off their best performances of the season so their clash at Casey Fields should be a ripper.
Neither side could have been more impressive last week.
Cranbourne was back to its brutal best in a clinical dissection of last year’s premier Berwick, while the Doves were far too good for a disappointing Pakenham outfit.
This match-up provides the Doves with the perfect opportunity to gain some redemption for their horrific round seven performance against the Eagles when they were crushed by 46 points.
The gap between the two sides was far greater than that margin may indicate, the Eagles controlling possession through the midfield on a night that was made for ducks.
Marc Holt dominated up forward with five goals while Brandon Osborne kept Brendan Fevola to a rare goalless evening.
So how do the Doves turn the tables?
They have a very talented midfield brigade with Lachie Batten, Nick Battle, ‘Pickles’ Henry, Sam Raru and Aaron Davey all capable of a heavy possession count.
Russell Gabriel is the best stoppage ruckman in the league, but he will need to be this week against the Eagles.
Simon Goosey has his midfield firing Shaun Marusic, Ryan Davey and Max Gearon doing the majority of the grunt work, with Ryan Jones, Mat Fletcher and Luke Bee-Hugo feeding off that core like sharks in a frenzy.
The Eagles were magnificent last week at clearing the ball from stoppage and that needs to be a key focus for the Doves on the weekend.
Turning the scoreboard over also needs to be looked at. The Eagles won’t relax in this department so the Doves will need to move the footy quickly and precisely.
To win, the Doves will need a special afternoon from Darren Allen, with the toughness of Shannon Henwood also set to be important up forward.
But the Eagles have too much too lose and will get home by 32 points.
BERWICK v TOORADIN
RIPPER – Berwick at Berwick on the rebound!
If one man was rolling his eyes more than most as scores filtered through from Casey Fields last week it was Tooradin coach Lachie Gillespie.
He’s the man entrusted with crashing the reigning champs back to earth for the second consecutive week at Edwin Flack Reserve this Saturday.
And if Berwick plays like it did last week he might just be a chance!
No team can play at its optimum level for an entire season, we all know that, and the Wickers just picked the wrong time to have a flat one against their number-one challengers last week.
But in hindsight the signs were already there.
Heading into last week the Wickers had played just one game of footy in 28 days, a hardly inspiring 25-point victory over a struggling Pakenham.
There’s just been no continuity, no matches to trigger the competitive juices, no feeling that they’re in the midst of a challenging football season.
But that changed last week when the Wickers were hit with the startling realisation that all the bells and whistles are one thing, but hard work is what got them to their privileged position in the first place.
Last week’s loss will do them good.
Their forward line suffered as a result of a beaten midfield, Ben Kearns the only forward to look dangerous when the game was on the line.
Kurt Batt, Tim Gunn, Mitch Johnson, Luke Nelson and Mark Weekes will be keen to right that wrong against the Seagulls this weekend.
Tooradin was beaten badly in a head-to-head shoot-out with Narre Warren last week but there were some promising signs in defeat.
The Seagulls’ scoring power has definitely improved, scoring 100 points for the second week running, the first time since round 12 in 2013 that they’ve achieved that.
And they do have some depth in reserve.
Michael Wallace will return shortly after playing his first game since round five in the twos while Jake Genoni, Shaun Keenan, Brad Lenders, Chris Langley, Elliott Hunt, Tim Lenders and Adam Muling have all had senior experience this year.
Nathan Page will also be keen to impress against his old club while Paddy Chin will look to use his space to cause some trouble up front.
The Seagulls usually match up well against the Wickers but the home side will prevail by 34 points.
PAKENHAM v OFFICER
THERE will be little more than pride to play for when Pakenham hosts Officer at Toomuc Reserve on Saturday.
That’s the harsh reality for both sides because, with six rounds left in their seasons, both won’t be playing finals this year.
Sure, Officer is still a mathematical chance but with games against the top five after this clash against the Lions the odds are stacked well and truly against them.
Officer is probably OK with not playing finals, but for Pakenham it’s a different story.
All the talk at Toomuc during the summer months was that the Lions would be disappointed with anything less than a top-three finish.
Their recruits, including Ben Fraser, Kym Jones, Luke Walker, Stevie Wright and Aaron Creasey, were expected to improve the group rapidly while the return of Norm Walker Medallist Dom Paynter would be the cherry on top.
But things just haven’t gone right from the start.
Key players like Sam Blackwood, Cory Lenders, Michael Taurua, Dean Blake, Jason Fisher and Nathan Brown have all missed significant chunks of the season, while Paynter’s horror run of injuries has continued.
And those recruits, apart from Walker, just haven’t gelled as expected.
The Lions can gain some respectability over the next four weeks with games against Officer, Hampton Park, Tooradin and Beaconsfield all challenges within their reach, before a tough run home against Berwick and Narre Warren.
But will a strong finish be beneficial for their future or will it merely gloss over some massive cracks that have appeared this year.
You’d love to be a fly on the wall at this year’s season-ending review.
But all the Lions can do right now is compete with Liam Tyrrell, Adam Alberni, Matt DeBruin, Matthew Wheeler and Jarrod Theisz continuing to improve as footballers and Russ Lehman, Beau Wheeler and Sam Blackwood looking to finish consistent second halves of the season on a high.
Officer struggled against Hampton Park last week and a repeat of that performance will see the Lions secure their third home win of the season.
Ben Tivendale, James Canty, Chris Larosa and Matty Clarke will be keen to make it two from two against the Lions this year and rub some salt into an already gaping wound.
But it’s the Lions by 13 points.
Hampton Park has the bye.
