STANHOPE v VIOLET TOWN
Up until a fortnight ago, Violet Town wasn’t guaranteed of playing finals.
They had left the door slightly ajar for Murchison, but quickly closed with back-to-back wins to close the home and away season.
Coach Sean Horsburgh knows his team needs to be switched on from the first bounce and be able to put scoreboard pressure on to put some doubt in the minds of the finals-hardened Lions.
The Lions have a large number of players who have been finals’ regulars and two of them to have performed on the big stage are Nathan Gemmill and Matt Forys.
These two could go a long way to deciding the contest.
Lachlan Whiting and Jayden Exell have been other guys to chip in with goals to help take the pressure of Forys.
They will need to get goals again while Alex O'Reilly, Alec Young, Shane McCurry and Klint Wagstaff will be others needing to play well.
The Towners deserve their spot in the finals, but they will want to make sure that they aren’t just making up the numbers.
Lochlan Morrison, Greg Dyer and Robert Staff were among the goals last week.
They will need to provide the support to Chris McKay down forward, while the likes of Jeremy Grace, Samuel Poole, Tony Fulton and Horsburgh will need to have good games.
KEY FACTS
Matt Forys has kicked 110 goals. The next best is Thomas Hepburn at 23.
Stanhope has a scoring average of 115 compared to Violet Town 104
Violet Town’s best win came against Lancaster back in June while Stanhope’s best victory came against also was against Lancaster.
Chris McKay is the Towners’ leading goalkicker with 44 while they have had a more even spread with a further six players kicking between 15 and 30.
The only meeting between the teams was back in July and the Lions were victorious by 11 goals.
AVENEL v LANCASTER
Lancaster still gained plenty from its hit-out against Merrigum despite losing the contest.
I believe you gain more from a high intensity contest than having a run-of-the-mill win heading into the finals.
Co-coach Russell Lee was outstanding, collecting close to 50 possessions. His partners in crime Steven Thomson and Ben Schulz were outstanding in giving a contest while the former kicked three goals.
Zachary Cerrone showed poise and class beyond his age.
I don’t think he wasted a possession while Nathan Bovalino and Chris Taylor were also good contributors for the Wombats.
Avenel has had another outstanding year under second year coach Cam Gillett.
In fact, I reckon they have improved on last year.
Gillett his coaching staff will only agree with that, but they will be keen go one better than last year and win a final.
The Swans were beaten by Murchison in the elimination final and the players will be desperate to avoid that today.
Micheal McKenzie, Paul Arandt, Donald Stirling, Andrew Green, Michael Morgan and Jacob Beale will be some of the guys pivotal to ensuring the Swans move into the second week of the finals while down forward the likes of Lewis, Thomas and McCarty will be important to them kicking enough goals to claim the win.
KEY FACTS
Lancaster’s best win came against Merrigum back at the end of May, but they did push Nagambie to one point in their second meeting and the Bulldogs to 11 points in the final home and away round.
Heath Barnett is the club’s top goalkicker with 78 while Avenel’s Cael McCarthy and Nathan Thomas top the list with 35 goals each.
Both teams scoring average is very similar with Lancaster at 129 and Avenel at 128.
Avenel’s best win ironically came against Lancaster at the end of June when they came from behind in the last quarter to snare the four points. That was the only meeting this year.
My tips: Stanhope and Lancaster.
Last Modified on 31/08/2015 14:40