Woomelang Lascelles will host the Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers as the top two teams clash in round 12 of the Mallee Football League.

The Tigers have taken the points in both outings thus far, however the Cats will have learnt a lot about their opponents in those two games and will be looking to get one back.

Coming off a bye Woomelang Lascelles will be near full strength. However, it won't necessarily be about personnel as both teams ooze talent, but rather more about who plays the better brand of football. The small Woomelang oval will also be a factor and with the Tigers direct style of play they may find themselves inside 50 on numerous occasions.

The Cats defence may not have a lot of tall key defenders, but if they can get the ball to ground their runners can rebound the ball with precision. Brodie Adcock is key for the Cats in this area and they always look to get the ball in his hands.

It will be interesting to see whether they start Devin McFarlane forward or back this week, as he has been able to do the job at both ends in recent matches.

Young Tigers ruckman Reece Luehmann had a breakout game last week against the Giants in the absence of Zac May, and as May is unlikely to return, he will again need to rise to the occasion. This will be made difficult with the two big-bodied ruckmen that the Cats possess. Arnold Kirby and Joshua Ratcliffe work well in tandem as they rotate between the ruck and forward.

The Tigers are in stellar form at the moment and it is hard to see anybody breaking their run. However, if the Cats are on, there is always the chance they can overcome the ladder leaders.

Walpeup Underbool will be on a high after their breakthrough win last week against Ouyen United. The Roos will look to build on this when they travel to Hopetoun for their match against the Southern Mallee Giants.

The Roos were with the services of former Richmond Tigers star Shane Tuck last week, however unfortunately for the Roos, he and Brad Dabrowski will be omissions from this week's team. Even with these outs, the success of last week's match will give all players a huge lift going into this game.

If they can use the ball as well as they did last week, and limit the costly turnovers that have plagued them for most of the season, there is no doubt they have the ability to kick a winning score.

On the other hand we have the Giants coming off a big loss, and they will be determined not to put in another effort like they did last week. They had a lot of players down against the Tigers, so they will be out to prove that they are still contenders come the end of the year.
Disposal was a big problem for the Giants last week. They were able to get enough of the football but their poor use gave their opposition plenty of opportunities to set up a shot on goal.

So it may be for this game that, whichever team can move the ball the cleanest and avoid turnovers, may just get over the line. Putting their opposition under pressure at all times will play an important part for both teams.

By Dale Shannon