www.countryfootyscores.com

image2.jpg
Home arrow Media Articles arrow League Previews arrow Farewell 2008 Home and Away Season
Farewell 2008 Home and Away Season Print E-mail
North Gippsland FLNorth Gippsland football finalists BOISDALE and CHURCHILL will meet on the eve of finals in the concluding round of the home and away fixture.


Boisdale’s surprise lose last weekend resulted in the Bombers top three chances slipping as they fell to fifth position.  The Bombers now set for an elimination showdown against reigning premiers Heyfield.

Sitting one game shy of Churchill and Glengarry, Heyfield remain in contention of a top three finish however are reliant on a number of factors.

Boisdale would need to topple Churchill for the second time this season, while Heyfield would also need to contribute to their fate with a sizeable victory over Cowwarr, third placed Glengarry’s percentage some six points superior then Heyfield’s.

With the stakes high against them the top five makeup appears unlikely to change after the conclusion of this weeks round.  The Roos premiership defence is likely to begin in 11 days time when they front up in the elimination final.

Churchill have hit their straps at the right time of the season, the Cougars firming as Gormandale’s biggest challenger for the premiership.

The Cougars have won their last four claiming seven wins over the last two months, their only slip up against Glengarry in round 14. 

While Churchill’s premiership campaign continues to gain momentum, Boisdale have somewhat fallen away late in the run to finals.

With several returning players and new recruits to work with, coach Andrew Gieschen had the Bombers playing often exciting football during the season but a shocking run of injuries and a tough five weeks on the draw has seen the Bombers drop away from their mid season mark.

This weeks clash primes as the last test for the Bombers before they begin their first finals campaign since rejoining the league five years ago.

Both sides boast match winners in the centre, Cougars Leigh McDonald, Travis Brighton and Chris Burke can break the game open as can Boisdale’s Winston Gieschen and Lee Forsyth.

Nathan McDonald is capable of winning a match off his own boot if he kicks a bag of goals.  Cougar team mate Daniel Hawking will also pose as a danger for the Bombers defence, when in match winning form the goal sneak can tear oppositions apart within minutes.

Boisdale’s forward stocks are also impressive, coach Gieschen has featured prominently in the sides goal kicking each week.  Gieschen kicking four against the Cougars in their round nine clash, the Bombers claiming the honours by 51 points.

Ben Carr and Clayton Kelly are also lively in front of goals, the Bombers likely to score a number of majors through their midfield Forsyth, Winston Gieschen, Zac Harrington and Joel Griffiths known for their goal scoring ability.

Dropping three of their last four Boisdale need the win to remain optimistic about finals, with their home ground advantage crucial in their chances.

A damaging third term by COWWARR against Glengarry last week gave the top three Magpies.

Pressing the high flying Magpies before fading away the Saints will finish the season against fierce rivals HEYFIELD.

Cowwarr haven’t beaten the Kangaroos since round 10 2006, Heyfield big winners to the tune of 78 points in their earlier season encounter.

On that day Heyfield’s young brigade the Dowse brothers Nick and Mitch along with Josh Stubbe featured in the votes, Mitch Dowse finishing the match with four majors.

The clubs clashes have been known for their fierce contests with this weeks meeting to be no different. 

Claiming the scalps of two finalists over the last two rounds, the Kangaroos shrugged off their underdog tag against Gormandale to hold the wood over the flag favourites for the second time this season.

Hitting their straps in the home straight of the season the reigning premiers will prove too strong for Cowwarr.

Reigning premiers Heyfield prove to be the thorn in GORMANDALE’s premiership ambitions, the Tigers winning run halted by the might of the Kangaroos.

Hosting TTU before sitting out the first week of the finals the Tigers will be keen to make amends for last weeks lose.

Gormandale holds a six-game lead in their head-to-head records, but that will mean nothing when the players run out onto the field.

It has been 10 weeks since they last met.

TTU has claimed four scalps in that time with its win over Boisdale the highlight.

The Bombers have moulded its team into a solid combination; after a slow start to the year saw the Bombers score just one win from their opening five matches.

Coach Matt Stolarczyk will need to get things started in the centre, while Adam Brady and Tom Lambert will be busy wherever they play if the side is to push the Tigers.

In their round nine clash the Bombers stood tall leading at half time, before regaining the lead in the final term, a goal to Gormandale’s Lewis Prince in the dying 20 seconds of the match seeing the Tigers scrap home by three points.

In their debut season WOODSIDE has endured a raft of emotion with the side recording their maiden victory while also enduring the brunt of the competitions leaders.

There will be little let up in their final game of the season, SALE CITY blowing the game apart last Saturday with a nine goal opening term against cellar dwellers Stratford.

Booting seven goals in the Wildcats 71 point lose against the Dogs coach Adrian Seccull continues to be missed in the forward line.  Woodside have struggled to fill the void left by the injured Seccull, the Wildcats failing to find the right forward combination to kick a competitive score.

In comparison Sale City had endless scoring options last week Adam Brander and David Downes tearing the opposition in half as they ran rampant.  The pair the catalysts in the Dogs 12 goal to five second half against Woodside in round nine.

Brander finishing the match with six as the home side broke away from the Wildcats after half time.

ROSEDALE has endured an indifferent season with the Blues horrid run of loses over the last month halting the sides seasoned finals appearance. 

Winning three of their last six matches the Blues, like STRATFORD boast young lists that have shown that as good as they can be they are often inconsistent.  Too often the Blues provided top sides with a handy break before making a late charge on the scoreboard.

Brad Caldwell has been the number one forward for the Blues this season with Ben Macreadie a valuable contributor with 42.

Macreadie has added plenty of pace around the Blues packs in his new role, and with the Caldwell’s Brad and Joe in attack, it should be enough to see off Stratford’s challenge.

Rosedale dominated the round nine meeting between the two sides winning by 11 goals.

Stratford’s year has been one of rebuilding recruiting well the side has been reliant on a handful of players standing tall and bearing the load all season but there have been too few others on board.

With further development in the off season, Stratford should improve on their win lose ledger in 2009.

GLENGARRY has the BYE   

WEEK ONE FINALS:

QUALIFYING FINAL – Second v Third, Saturday 23rd August
ELIMINATION FINAL - fourth v Fifth, Sunday 24th August

By Lauren Carey
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]

Polls

Should the AFL contribute more to country footy?
 

Subscribe

Want to find out when scores and ladders have been updated? Why not subscribe, it's free!
To subscribe, click here to access the contact page.