Woomelang Lascelles will welcome the Southern Mallee Giants to their home turf this weekend in a bid to win back second spot on the Mallee Football League ladder.

A surprise loss to a rejuvenated Walpeup Underbool last week saw the Cats give up their second position to the Giants after they scrapped to a win over Ouyen United.

With 7 rounds of football left, so much can still happen in terms of finishing positions for most teams. While Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers seem to have top spot sewn up, all other positions are still up for grabs.

The Cats will be disappointed to drop the game last week against the Roos, and will be looking to bounce back. The Cats will take confidence from their first encounter at home against the Giants when they ran out the game better than their opposition to get home by 38 points.

Trent Donnan has been in stellar form for the Cats. He has a great ball winning ability and uses the ball extremely well when he gets it. Donnan can also be damaging when resting forward or back, and his leadership can inspire those around him.

Devin McFarlane should return for the Cats. Last time he started on Kain Robins then went forward late in the game to kick goals. He seems to be their 'Mr Fix It', and the Cats would benefit from having one of him at each end of the ground.

The Giants have been able to find other avenues to goal with Robins getting plenty of attention from the opposition backmen. Brock Orval and Lachie Foott have been dangerous up forward in recent weeks and their onballers have also been able to chip in.

The Cats strength is through their midfield. Creative playmakers such as Pierce Liddle, well serviced by ruckman Arnold Kirby, will need close attention to try and curb their influence.

This is an important game in the context of the season for both teams, so no doubt players will be giving their all.

Ouyen United will be hoping to get back on the winners list when they travel to Sea Lake to meet the ladder leaders on their home ground. The Tigers are coming off a break, but will be looking to build their momentum as we move into the latter part of the season.

Sea Lake have been able to maintain a reasonable consistency in their starting 18 throughout the year so far, enabling them to have players settled in their positions. Even with forced changes, the Tigers have great depth coming up through their reserves, which is a great sign of a successful team.

Ouyen United know that the Tigers are beatable, after getting on top of them in their round 4 clash earlier in the season. The return of Brad Vallance last week against the Giants gave the whole side an obvious boost. While he managed to kick 4 goals, they seem a much better all round team when he is in their line-up. The battle between Vallance and Luke Martin will be one to watch. Martin has been one of the Tigers' top performers and has rarely been beaten this season.

Kale Barker and the high marking Colin Keatch also provide excellent avenues to goal and will need to be respected by their opponents.

For the Demons to keep their top 2 hopes alive, and remain safe in the top four, this would be an important game to win.

By Dale Shannon