Fish Creek v Yinnar
Yinnar have wobbled to the finish line and there is a real fear now that they may actually fall at the very last hurdle.
Only a win this weekend (and a loss by Morwell East to Thorpdale) will have the Magpies placed inside the top six, a position they have held for all but the last week of the home and away season, and the challenge of an inform Kangaroos side, at least on the surface looks beyond them in their current form..
Daniel Taylor, Yinnar coach “ Fish Creek this week is going to be a tough ask, we just need to find a way to win to hopefully sneak into the finals.”
At the moment the reigning premiers are under enormous pressure to keep themselves in a position to defend their title, and on the surface at least, it appears they might not get the chance idf results go the way as expected.
The only way to ensure they are part of the action is to win, and at the end of the day that is the only thing they can control, mind you, the in form Fish Creek will have something to say about that.
Jarred Walker, Fish Creek coach “This week against Yinnar will be a great opportunity to polish up a few areas of our game coming into a tough finals series ”
and that is the difference that might provide opportunity for Magpies, with Yinnar fighting for their lives and Fish Creek just wanting some "tweaking" in preparation for a finals campaign in which they are expected to be a major player.
Foster v Stony Creek
For Foster this should be all about fine tuning, prior to the finals but if in the worst case scenario, the Tigers were to lose while the two teams below them in Morwell East and Yinnar claimed victories their spot in the six would come down to percentage.
That thought alone should have the home side ready to play like it was finals time already.
Sam Davies, Foster coach “Our seasons still alive, It's our final home game against Stony this week. We will enjoy celebrating the seasons of our resilient reserves and netballers in their final games."
The Tigers are very much a contender at senior level however, and in such an even competition, if you're alive you're a chance and his weekend will give them that chance.
Chris Verboon, Stony Creek coach “It's our final game for the year this weekend against Foster who are still fighting for a finals chance so expecting them to come out strong.”
Stony Creek have let too many close games slip through their fingers this season, and if given the chance to claim a victory against Foster in what is tipped to be another nail biting clash, the Lions are likely to be well versed in what to, and not to do, and although a victory would be a nice way for Stony Creek to finish, it would be a disaster for Foster.
Hill End v Mirboo North.
Last week was too bad to be true for both these sides, with each being on the receiving end of massive losses, Hill End by one hundred and ninety two and Mirboo North by seventy nine.
It was the stuff of nightmares and the side that wakes up and gets into gear first this weekend might just find the confidence required to secure a much needed victory to finish off their season.
It will be Coach Mike Santo's final game as coach of the home side, and given the Hillsmen are yet to register a win in season 2023, this will also be their last chance to give him something from which to remember his time at Hill End.
Last week against the top side, the Rovers played some good football, but against a side like Newborough the game can quickly slip away.
Mike Santo, Hill End coach “ We fought out until the final siren which I’m proud of but we weren’t anywhere near good enough.
The Tigers have been well short of their very best, with a significant number of injuries being a major problem for most of the year, but there is no doubt Mirboo will be after a rare win this weekend.
Peter Mongta, Mirboo North coach “This week we trek across to Hill End FC for the last game of the season for our senior and reserves sides and our focus will be to finish the right way as a club.”
With no hope of finals for either side, having a victory to hang your hat on still remains important, and there is sure to be players playing their last game for clubs as well and that alone is reason for players to find something a little extra.
MDU v Toora
MDU at home will be too big a mountain for Toora to climb, but the match for the Demon's is as important as any other, given it will be the last chance for players to impress and the coach to identify any areas that might need attention prior to a final that will offer no second chances.
Nathan Allen, MDU coach “Last week we had the bye. It was a good chance for our guys to freshen up and then hopefully we have a near fully healthy list to pick from heading into the last round and finals”
The Demons should be winning this game and doing comfortably as well, but coaches are caught between wanting their side to improve and fine tune everything they do ahead of finals and also getting through the game injury free with finals commencing the very next week.
Toora might not be playing a part of finals at senior level, but the Magpies do have a strong reserves side that are well positioned to defend their 20222 premiership.
Jack Weston, Toora coach ”we were looking forward to the bye last week to freshen up into Meeniyan this week.”
As much as playing football is performing at the best level, the Demons sit third on the reserves ladder and the Magpies fourth, but MDU could claim second spot if they can get over Toora, which would give them the first week off in finals time.
So
Tarwin v Newborough
It is mathematically possible for Tarwin too make the finals, but rather than bore you with the number of things that would need to happen for the Sharks to steal a spot, it is probably easier to say it is close enough to impossible, given that step one would require Tarwin to beat the previously unbeaten Newborough, and given the Bulldogs hot form, You would think that is where it starts and stops.
Troy Hemming, Tarwin coach “Newborough at home. Win we get a chance to play finals.
Will Skinner be thinking about the next month? Or will he want to make sure we don’t make it?
Time will tell.
Make no mistake, Newborough have from the start of pre season training have had one eye on the final game of the season, knowing all of what they have to do to get there, and they find themselves exactly where they planned, but their is a slightest of indicators that they are keen just to be at their best not this weekend but in the weeks ahead.
Craig Skinner, Newborough coach “Last week apart from the scoreboard it was another win to finish the game with no additions to the injury list where we travel to Tarwin for our last game before finals”
If the Bulldogs were to show up on the Tarwins home deck and not be ready to play, there is little doubt the Sharks will be ready to attack, but even that would jolt the Newborough side into action and when they are in action they are very good to watch.
Thorpdale v Morwell East.
There is every chance that not only will these two teams clash this weekend in the last week of the home and away season, they may also meet in the very first week of the finals.
It is an interesting twist, but winning this weekend and bringing that form into a game with no second chances the following week is crucial, and you can bet that both of these finals aspirants will be bringing their best come saturday.
Jason Winderlich, Thorpdale coach “it was good for the group to have some tough footy before the bye. With players missing it was great to see some of the young guys step up. Lots of sore bodies this time of year so the break has come at a good time for the group. Looking forward to playing Morwell east. Along with newborough and fish creek they are one of the form teams of the competition. They will be determined to lock in their finals position like us so it is the perfect game for both teams. “
Both coaches are acutely aware of what a result means and to that end, we are likely to see a "finals like" clash on the weekend.
Paul Henry, Morwell East coach “ Another away game this week, against the highly regarded Thorpdale. We win that and we cement a spot in the finals.”
With Morwell East flagging their desire of a shift to the NGFNL, this might well be their last opportunity to have an impact in the MGFNL, rather than to leave the competition as just a middle of the road club.
BYE: Boolarra
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