North Gippsland Football returns on Saturday following the competitions general bye with round nine action to be highlighted by the showdown between premiership contenders SALE CITY and YARRAM.

Coming into the contest on the back of what many would tout as a shock defeat at the hands of the lesser ranked Tigers, Sale City coach Hayden Burgiel is under no illusions as to the challenge that his chargers will face as they aim to bounce back from a disappointing showing a fortnight ago.

"The top five to six is pretty tight, you can't afford to drop games that you should win," said Burgiel.

"This week we will be looking to get back that game that we lost, we will get back six in the line-up which should have us at near full strength, but we know that it won't be an easy contest."

Noting that the result against Gormandale was disappointing, Burgiel will look to reset his side with a tough two weeks ahead with Rosedale waiting in the wings in the round one replay.

But before then Burgiel will focus on the Demons, with the City coach confident that his line-up will have Yarram's match.

"If we can deliver fast movement into our forwards and use our pace around the ball to our advantage we should be able to gain an edge over Yarram" said Burgiel.

"Our game styles are different, we know that we need to contain their forwards with (Justin) Staley and (Corbin) Sutherland keys to their structure if we don't do that we will be behind the eight ball from the start.

"We need to shut down Grif Underwood who is their main man, their main ball controller, if we can keep him to 20-25 touches for the game that would be a good result. There will be a lot of pressure on the midfielders, we need to make sure that we click into gear early on."

Sitting in second position following the side's 91 point thrashing of Cowwarr, Demons coach Anthony Pavey knows that this week's contest is worth more than the traditional four points.

"We go into the round sitting in second but if we drop the points this week could slide and find ourselves in sixth position at the end of the round. The competitions that tight you have to take your chances," said Pavey.

Noting that his side won't be taking the Dogs lightly, Pavey will need to fill the void of a number of key omissions through injury and availability none more so then trio Andrew Kiely, Louis Rodaughan and Jari McDonald, with McDonald having been called up to the Gippsland Power line-up.
"We have a few out, some that will be another week or so away, but those that have come into the side are still holding their own.

"We will miss the likes of Louis and Jari, the improvement throughout the season has come from the kids and Kiely has been a very important player for us also," said Pavey.

Like a game of chess, Pavey has strategically studied this week's opposition and knows that his side will need to negate the run that the Dogs generate on the rebound from half back.

"We need to shut down their run, their link up and carry of the back line, they play on quickly and use their pace from the backline."

The battle that will rage between the fleet footed City defence and the power forwards of Yarram will be an enticing contest with Pavey hopeful that his side's forward structure can win the battle.

"Hopefully our forwards in Justin Staley, Ryan Underwood and Keifer Sutherland are a real strength in the contest then throw into the mix the likes of Grif Underwood and Matt Clavarino."

CHURCHILL will be hungry to bounce back from a hefty defeat at the hands of Rosedale in round eight as they aim to play themselves into some solid form in the coming months if they are to be rewarded with a finals berth.

Sitting one game behind the leading quartet this week's encounter against GLENGARRY will prove advantageous to the Cougars percentage which will need a considerable boost and could prove the difference at seasons end if the reigning premiers are to defend their title.

There will be little let up for the Magpies defence who felt the full effects of Heyfield's forwards flexing their muscle in a goal scoring frenzy two weeks ago. The Cougars forward line provides an even spread of contributors with Glengarry's back six resolve to again be tested.

Returning home after a disappointing performance on the road COWWARR will host a red hot ROSEDALE outfit who made light pickings of Churchill in a strong 19 goal showing.

The Saints have shown that they can match it with the competitions front runners, however will need to put in a strong sustained four quarter effort it they are to atone the rampant Blues and claim an upset against the competitions number one ranked side.

With an iron tight defence and strong engine room, the Blues appear to have the match of the Saints around the ground and should maintain their hold at the top the premiership ladder standings with victory.

HEYFIELD will host TTU a side who will have their work cut out for them in what many pundits predict will be a crunch game for the Bombers.

Sitting inside the top five one game behind this week's opponent third placed Kangaroos, the Bombers season has been one of mixed fortunes. While boasting a win loss ledger of five-three the Bombers have claimed just the one scalp against a top five opponent in Yarram, and have struggled to match it with fellow top five contenders.

For the Bombers the clash is crucial to their chances of playing finals and would provide a confidence boost for a side who have scrapped together some gutsy wins with a piece meal line-up thanks to an endless list of injuries. But it will take an almighty performance to knock over the Kangaroos on their home turf.

The big cats will do battle when WOODSIDE and GORMANDALE compete for the silverware – the Toms Cap Cup.

Sitting at the tail end of the premiership ladder standings, this week's opponents have recorded two wins to date with both sides confident that they can take another step forward in their improvement with victory on Saturday.

For the Tigers the confidence would be growing following the sides win over Sale City, while for the Wildcats they will need to refocus on the task at hand as they aim to rebound from the disappointment of a 20 goal thrashing by TTU.

With plenty at stake for both sides expect the big cats from over the hill, Gormandale, to make it two in a row.

By Lauren Carey