Centrals take a minor round 3-2 advantage into tonights sudden death final against West in the Under 18's competition. The game starts at 6.30pm at the Jubilee Oval.
Centrals had big wins in Round 3 by 40 points and again in Round 6 by 41 points before a West turned the tables in Round 9 winning by 50 points on the back of the emotion surrounding the change in Senior Coach.
In Round 12 West again prevailed but by just 3 points in the macth of the season. Last week with both teams missing key players the Pies won by 6 points.
Central Coach Anthony Barker is back after a 2 week suspension and along with the West bench they will need to be on their best behavoiur as the League has appointed 3 Field Umpires and an Emergency Umpire to ensure the benches are not abusive and rotations are done correctly.
Both Clubs are keen to showcase their Juniors given the horror year in Senior football. Central appear to have the older chore of Players led by Connor Martin, Jayden Page, Mathew Duthy, Lyndon McInnes, Louis Hann & Tanner Lloyd. Marrtin and Page have played plenty of Senior football this year and will need to play their roles tonight most likely at CHF and CHB respectfully.
McInnes has the class to play regular senior football in the future as he posseses a great kick, good vision and never seems rushed. If he fires tonight the Pies will win!
In the ruck Castar Morris has improved and will need to ensure Rourke Barker, Duthy and the Rolton boys Garreth and Lindsay see plenty of the Sherrin.
Central will also need cameo efforts from their younger Players like Luca Napoli who has a long kick and seems to always find space. Centrals also have 4 juniors from the Under 15's eligible in Dylan Rilen, Jake Benton, Joshua Handford and Harrison Campbell who all appear to have good footy skills.
For the Robins they have a great running side led by speedsters Sage Hocking and Jarred Nicholls. The availability of Jordan Cox would add to that genuine leg speed that can open up the game. West need to keep Josh Cieslik as the key forward as he has wonderful hands and is capable of kicking a big bag. Equally important will be Ty Andrews who has had a disrupted year at Senior level but managed 13 of 15 games in this grade. Andrews can play anywhere and may just need to play midfield to ensure the Robins win their fair share of clearances.
In the backlines West have the human blanket in Jordan Meehan who is the Coaches dream player as he is nver beaten and never stops giving 100%. Add the class of Mackenzie Attard and Jordan Locklier down back and West have the troops to keep Cenrtrals from scoring too heavily.
In attack Junior Paddric Attard loves a goal and will need to be watched whilst Lachlan Harvey is back and could be a multiple goal kicker if he concentrates on just playing the game. West have 2 big bodies in Lucas Gray and Aiden Berg who will give a great contest around the ground for the Robins.
The key to this game may well be whether Angus Schindler at full back can stop Centrals gun forward Rourke Turner. Turner has the tricks to be the next big thing in local footy IF he has the genuine passion for the game. A few Sunday games in the Sunraysia competition woud suggest he has aspirations to go all the way so dominating a semi final is a good step in the right direction.
The team that wins will be the team that uses the ball better, maintains concentration and composure and shares the ball amongst anyone in the guernsey. Off field the Coaches also need to handle the pressure of the night and only worry about the things they can control. Getting the match ups right and offering continued support to their playing group will always achieve better results than playing the blame game!
Good luck to both Clubs as they chase a grand final spot!
Last Modified on 19/08/2015 15:11