By RUSSELL BENNETT
ELLINBANK AND DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 7
MUCH of the Round 7 attention this weekend will be on Buln Buln’s clash with Garfield, as inspirational Lyrebirds player-coach Brent Eastwell takes on his former side for the first time since leading the Stars to the 2013 senior premiership.
Garfield seems to have turned somewhat of a corner since being humbled by Nar Nar Goon in Round 3 – pushing Kooweerup to the brink in a thrilling Round-5 draw, and destroying Poowong in Round 6.
But Buln Buln is a different challenge entirely, with the Lyrebirds stunning Nar Nar Goon with an after-the-siren, match-winning goal in the last match before the interleague break.
And the task facing the Stars isn’t lost on player-coach Ryan Hendy.
“It’s definitely going to be a really big challenge for us,” he said.
“It’s a bit of the unknown, coming up against them, but we have to respond – they’re undefeated so far.”
Piece by piece, the Stars are getting closer to having their best side back on the field and Hendy said the confidence of the senior players had grown over recent weeks – admitting that the interleague break didn’t exactly come at an ideal time for their momentum.
Hendy hasn’t yet played at Buln Buln, but is aware of the ground’s contrasting dimensions to the Stars’ Beswick Street home. There won’t be as much space for Garfield’s runners to ply their trade, but Hendy isn’t as concerned about that as some onlookers might be – pointing to his side’s big bodies as a factor that could work to its advantage.
“The main thing with us this week is our effort, and that just wasn’t there against Nar Nar Goon and Longwarry,” he said.
“They (the Lyrebirds) deserve to go in as favourites this week, we definitely appreciate that, but as a group we’ve started to play better footy. Justin (Berry) and John Atwell should start hitting a bit more form, and the likes of Rory Hower have really been playing well for us.
“Their ground shouldn’t bother us, but we were ordinary against Longwarry and we want to redeem ourselves against quality opposition.
“I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t have a fair dinkum crack.”
This clash should be an absolute belter, but like Hendy said – the undefeated Lyrebirds deserve to go in as favourites. They’ve been in outstanding form and, at home, should continue their winning streak… just!
Nilma Darnum footy manager Joel Wishart is looking forward to his side potentially having four players back for the Bombers’ home clash with Nar Nar Goon.
Skipper Zeke Lamb, Mike Santo, Ty Galley and Luke O’Donoghue could all line up and Wishart is looking forward to see what the side is capable of when it’s had time to gel.
“We’ve got to string games together with the right frame of mind,” he said.
“We know we can match it with sides through the midfield but we need to bring it out of the backline better.”
Wishart said the side’s main challenge was eliminating those five or six minute patches where some players seemed to switch off, and pointed to the Catani game in Round 4 as an example of that.
The Bombers could pose some real issues to the Goon backline this week, particularly if Jason Wells continues his ominous form, but Tom Hallinan’s boys should just have too many weapons all over the ground.
Meanwhile Longwarry coach Scott Gowans said some of his more experienced players were jumping out of their skin to resume their rivalry with neighbours Bunyip at The Kennel this Sunday.
But, like the Bombers, the Crows have been absolutely ravaged with injuries to key players this season – including full-back Dylan Serong, key midfielder Luke Serong, Ymet Zijai and big forward Glenn Browney.
“We’ve used 34 players already this year and we’ve blooded five under-18s, but we’ll look to put three more in,” he said.
Gowans said the Crows’ future was looking strong with some real quality coming up through the under-16s and 18s, but added that only players who were physically ready would make the step up into the seniors – even if others potentially had more natural talent.
Eastern Football League recruit Alex Veitch is primed to make his Crows’ debut this week in a clash that pits two particularly evenly-matched sides against each other. Only 11 of Longwarry’s current senior players have played against Bunyip before, but they’ll soon appreciate just how strong this rivalry is. Gowans said his men have three main aims this week – to win the clearance and inside-50 battle, and to improve their kicking accuracy – but we’re giving the nod to the Bulldogs in a thriller at home.
In the round’s other clashes, Cora Lynn will be far too strong for Nyora, Neerim South should edge out Lang Lang in a tight battle at The Cattery, Poowong will be no match for Kooweerup, and the Warragul Industrials should prove too much for Catani – despite losing inspirational midfielder Shane Brewster for at least the next eight weeks with two small fractures and a torn medial ligament in his knee.
