By DAVID NAGEL
SOUTH EAST FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ROUND 13
NARRE WARREN v BERWICK
MOUTHWATERING doesn’t even come close to describing how enticing this week’s clash is between Narre Warren and Berwick at Kalora Park.
This one has the hallmarks of an absolute classic with two teams who clearly despise the sight of each other going head-to-head for four of the most important premiership points of the season.
Forget when coaches say that every game of football is worth equal – that’s crap – because there is more at stake in this one than any other game that has been played this year.
OK, let’s accommodate the coaches first and start with the four points, four points that are going to sway the balance of the premiership race one way or the other.
The Wickers win and they march on, two games clear of the fourth-placed Magpies, joined by Beaconsfield, and more than likely by Cranbourne in that most luxurious of positions.
This could be it for the Magpies, the great team of the last decade could slip out of double-chance contention, and by extension, become the roughies of the four chances that are likely to hoist the flag!
Berwick would stretch its winning streak to 10, have defeated the Magpies twice for the season and condemn the boys from Fox Road to their second loss in three outings.
But what if the Magpies win?
It changes everything and could be the momentum builder that morphs into a freight-train over the last 10 weeks of the season.
And the questions will resurface for the Wickers.
Can they match Narre Warren’s intensity, not just this week when it’s going to be awfully hot in the kitchen but when the whips are cracking in September?
The Magpies aren’t going settle for anything less than a premiership this year but does Berwick have that deep-seated belief and desire as well?
Ah well, they’ve worked their backsides off to get to the top of the table, the Wickers, they want that big-game pressure and they want to play on the big-stage – well, it’s time to puff out the chest and perform.
And there are other factors at play here.
It very rarely happens, but Narre Warren hit rock-bottom against the Wickers back in round three, the 49-point margin was one thing, the way the Wickers ran all over the Magpies seemed to disintegrate the aura that had been built up over the journey.
Berwick was confident, the Magpies down in the dumps.
Narre coach Chris Toner has a very long memory!
“We did hit rock-bottom that day and it was probably the loss we needed to have, to be honest,” Toner said.
“We all made mistakes that day.
“I’m going to put my hand up and say I made some mistakes myself last time we played but we’ve learnt from those, we’ve taken our medicine and we’ve moved on.
“It’s a big game, there’s a lot at stake, and we never want to get beaten twice by the same team in a season.”
Narre insiders talk about that round-three contest as being the perfect storm for Berwick.
The Wickers had their VFL stars Jake Gains and Nathan Page play that day while the Magpies were without two likely starters this week – Kain Baskaya and Josh Tonna.
Gains will be the big loss for the Wickers. He dominated the ruck that day to camouflage one of the key deficiencies in the Wickers’ armoury.
This one really is going to be a cracker!
Kain Baskaya’s impact across half forward last week was immediate and that’s the area of the ground where Berwick has really shored up its stocks this season.
Michael Riseley, Michael Johnson and former West Coast Eagle Ash Smith provide the calm, the composed, and the penetrating drive that seem to be the regulation traits of a premiership winning side these days.
Baskaya himself knows of the importance of that role after being a vital link in one of the best half-back lines seen in recent years.
That battle alone will be worth watching.
At the other end of the ground we have the Berwick forward line where the classy Ben Kearns, who kicked five against the Maggies in round three, will join forces with livewire Mitchell Johnson and the in-form Tim Gunn.
Ryan Morrison would seem the perfect match-up for Gunn while Jarrod Anderson, Ben Giobbi, Ben King or Damian Collins are all more than capable of waxing between the others.
Then there’s the two skippers, Michael Collins and Madi Andrews, and the list goes on!
It’ll be hard, it’ll be tough… and let’s hope it’s bloody exciting.
It’s the Magpies in a thriller.
DOVETON v ROC
DOVETON and ROC are both injury depleted so it will come down to who wants it more when the Doves welcome the Kangaroos to Robinson Reserve on Saturday.
Fair dinkum, you’d reckon Doveton coach Shannon Henwood and this week’s counterpart Brad Jones had ran over a black cat and, in the process, crashed into a shop full of mirrors.
Geez they’ve been unlucky.
Other teams may complain but the Doves have used 41 players this season, two more than any other side and have never had their best team on the park.
Only two players, Ryan Morrison and Travis Davis, have played every game this season while ROC would seem to be well represented in this area with 10.
But that’s all about to change.
Two of those players, Dylan Chapman and Travis Woodfield, have left on an overseas jaunt, throwing the flame on an already growing injury list.
Jones just wants his players to produce their ultimate effort… that’s all he can really ask for.
“I’ve only questioned my players’ care and want for the ball once this year, and that was against Tooradin (in round 11),” Jones said.
“We think we’ve got a talented list but if their want for the ball is not there then we’re all just wasting our time.”
The Kangaroos have really matched up well against the Doves in recent times, splitting their contests in both 2013 and 2014, but this looks to be a challenge that may be beyond them.
Injuries are threatening to cruel their competitiveness for the remainder of the season while the Doves still have plenty to play for.
Win this and it sets up a huge trip to Pakenham next week where the winner, basically, assures itself a place in the September action.
For a club that has finished sixth or seventh over the past four seasons, that’s a pretty big deal.
It’s the Doves comfortably.
TOORADIN v CRANBOURNE
THE last time Tooradin defeated Cranbourne nearly half of this week’s team was still at primary school!
We have to wind the clock back to 2007 to find the last time the Seagulls triumphed over the Eagles who have won 15 and drawn one of their previous 16 encounters.
As for primary school gag, that’s more to explain the youthful exuberance that the Seagulls currently have in their nest.
Players such as Kris Sabbatucci, Jesse Hand, Brad Lenders, Troy Dolan and Andrew Proctor are playing key roles that will help them become quality performers down the track.
That’s not to say they aren’t already performing but with maturity and growth as a unit, coach Lachie Gillespie is confident that his team is on the right track.
“Absolutely, they’re all hungry to learn, they take everything on board and I couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds for our club,” he said.
“We’ve lost Wadey (champion midfielder Matt Wade) now but the players understand that just because he’s gone it doesn’t mean everything needs to fall over.
“As disappointing as it is to lose him, the club rolls on and now it’s up to the younger guys to take ownership and take this club to the next step.”
Gillespie knows his young troops are in for a torrid afternoon against the Eagles
“I rate Cranbourne extremely highly, they’re well coached, they understand their game plan inside and out and they’ve got that Cranbourne confidence about them,” he said.
“It’s a huge challenge for our group but we’ve got no fear, there’s no pressure on us and we’re going out there to win some respect.”
Cranbourne will be fresh coming off last week’s bye and with Mat Fletcher, Max Gearon and Luke Bee-Hugo in red-hot form through the midfield, should return from Westernport Oval with four points in the kit-bag.
HAMPTON PARK v PAKENHAM
HAMPTON Park tends to wait five years before it decides to defeat Pakenham and that five years is up when the Redbacks welcome the Lions to Robert Booth Reserve on Saturday.
The Redbacks have tasted success just twice against the Lions over the past decade, once in 2005, and again in 2010… can 2015 be the continuation of what we’re reluctant to call a lucky-streak!
Make no mistake, they’re probably as good a chance of winning this one as they have of any over the past five years, the Redbacks.
But that’s more a reflection of Pakenham’s status right now, not a sudden rise in performance from the home side.
Pakenham is on its knees right now, crippled by injury to key personnel and seemingly ripe for the picking.
Add that to the fact that the Redbacks are coming off a break, have a bye next week and have a massive reunion taking place at the clubrooms on the weekend and you start to see an upset on the cards.
It’s a free swing, if you like!
If the Redbacks can quell the influence of Dean Blake, Russell Lehman and Steve O’Bryan they become a genuine chance here.
Through injuries, there are not so many Lions who can roar so the responsibility becomes concentrated.
The Redbacks really do have a chance.
Players such as Andrew Shipp, Nathan Dawes, Luke Nunan, Nathan Carver and Cory Phillips will be sick of kicking their boots off without singing a song, and will lift for one of their big opportunities for the year.
But it’s the Lions to win narrowly.
Beaconsfield has the bye.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS SINCE 2005
Team Wins Draws Wins Team
Narre Warren 19 0 5 Berwick
Doveton 13 1 3 ROC
Tooradin 5 1 15 Cranbourne
Hampton Park 2 0 19 Pakenham
