Boolarra v Tarwin
With a bye in the last round of the home and away season, this will be the last chance for the Demons to farewell their coach, Tony Giardina, in the fashion he deserves after announcing his inevitable retirement at season end, just a few weeks ago.
Their opponents are a Tarwin team with a finals dream still alive, albeit faint, who will view anything less than a victory as a failure.
Troy Hemming, the Tarwin coach, was devastated with his Sharks performance prior to last weeks bye, when they lost a game he believes they should have won against Foster. "We should have won the game, then the bye, now we have Boolarra at Boolarra for their last game of the year, and it will be tough."
Both sides are short of the confidence required to win games they probably should, so this weeks clash points to a victory for the team that takes the initiative and arrives and plays like they believe they should.
Tony Giardina, Boolarra coach “Last week we didn’t turn up to play against a very polished side who made us pay every time we turned it over. This week our last game against Tarwin hopefully we turn up to play and finish the season off on a winning note.”
Both sides have not reached the heights that they had planned prior to the start of what has turned out be a most competitive MGFNL season, but this weekend provides a small opportunity to take something from a disappointing year.
Mirboo North v Fish Creek
For a moment or two last week it appeared that Mirboo North might just pull off one of the upsets of the season when they led premiership contender MDU at half time, but as they say a week is a long time in football and so to is just a half of footy and that is all it took for the Tigers to lose grip on a game they had a chance of winning.
Peter Mongta, Mirboo North coach “This week is another tough contest against Fish Creek at home who are another top three side, They jumped us in the first half in the last encounter and we managed to level the score after half time, so it is another great challenge.”
The Kangaroos performance in a finals-like environment last week was first class, and apart from say wayward kicking for goal it appears that Fish Creek are about where they would like to be, however, there remains one more item to cross off their bucket list this weekend.
Jarred Walker, Fish Creek coach “Heading out to Mirboo this week, a ground we haven’t had a win at since joining the league so looking for a strong performance and the chance to lock away second position”
That second position is the perfect springboard into finals, giving them a coveted second chance, however there is every indication they may not need it.
Newborough v Hill End
Newborough cruised past Boolarra just a week ago, and the thought of what they might do to a winless Hill End side is actually quite concerning.
The Bulldogs were bordering on ruthless as they steamrolled Boolarra by twenty five goals, and one wouldn't expect this weekend to be too much different.
Craig Skinner, Newborough coach "We welcome magic Mike’s Hil lEnd next week and unfortunately it will be our last home game so we’re looking forward to seeing what they bring to the Kennel."
Hill End coach, Mike Santo will need to be a magician to grab a win this week and has already confirmed his intentions to leave his coaching role with the Rovers at season's end, but as a talented competitor in his own right, he has managed to maintain his positivity when many others would have lost their mind after such a trying season."Unfortunately we aren’t working hard enough for each other, a very disappointing result before the bye for us. Great to have the week off"
If nothing else the next and yet to be appointed coach of the Hill End club is likely to be watching the clash very closely and that will give a first hand look at what is required to be a contender in the years ahead.
Stony Creek v Morwell East
The math is simple, Morwell East must win this weekend or they are likely to inadvertently give up their finals chances for season 2023.
The Hawks have done, as have most, the calculations for what is required and one of the non-negotiables is this weekend's result.
Sure there are other connotations that could provide an alternative route, but most of them are unlikely.
Paul Henry, Morwell East coach “Last week we delivered an impressive four quarter effort. but this week we travel to Stoney Creek, which we know, will be a huge contest”
The Lions are more deserving than the results that they have, but even though too late in the season, the signs are positive for the future, last week's efforts against the inform Thorpdale are testimony to that.
Chris Verboon, Stony Creek coach “We came home strong with some really good ball movement. We took the game on and it was pleasing to see we didn’t just let them run away with an easy win. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t get the win but we are building and our boys did a great job to stick with a side that should do some damage come finals time. Our last home game this week against Morwell East, which will be another tight contest.”
This match is a fifty fifty game, and it's only the Hawks' need to win that might have you lean their way, but with no finals possibilities to think of, the Lions can cause chaos with a freedom that their opponents do not have.
Yinnar v Foster
It was only weeks ago that Yinnar were looking as though they would be in a position to defend their title of reigning premiers as the MGFNL finals started to close in, however in the space of a month and with a side missing much too many of their first choice players the Magpies are well and truly under pressure.
Daniel Taylor, Yinnar coach "we had the bye last week, before our last two matches of the season against, Foster and then Fish Creek, we need to win one of these games to fall into the finals, so its a big few weeks ahead."
Its hard to see which if any the Magpies can win, given their opponents are both looking like they are playing the type of football that is going to be hard to stop.
Sam Davies, Foster coach “ Plenty of adversity for our group and I’m proud of our efforts. This week we face Yinnar off a bye, their injuries rival ours so it might be survival of the fittest.”
There is nothing more challenging than "limping" into a finals campaign, but that is what confronts both of these two team, no matter the weekend result.
BYE: MDU, Thorpdale, Toora
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