Round 15 will complete the third full round of the Mallee Football League, and the fight for ladder positions will continue.

Ouyen United and Woomelang Lascelles will clash at Blackburn Park, both coming off close losses last week. This game gives the Demons the opportunity to draw level with the Cats on 5 wins and give them some breathing space in fourth position.

For the Demons to give themselves the confidence to beat their opposition they will be hoping Brad Vallance and Andrew Jardine recover fully from the injuries they sustained against the Tigers last week. Vallance received a cut to the head and Jardine injured his ankle, neither able to play out the game.

The Cats also suffered an injury to a key player in round 14 with Jayden Lonergan finishing the game on the sidelines. Lonergan offers so much to his team, both up forward when impacting the scoreboard and by winning clearances as an onballer.

Both teams play a fast paced style game and look to switch the play to get their creative, running players in space. Ouyen United use their home ground very well to achieve this, whilst Woomelang Lascelles will be looking to cover quickly on the rebound and put pressure on the Demons’ as they surge forward.
There have been some very close games in recent weeks, and this has the potential to end in a similar result.

It is top versus bottom in the second game, however recent form of both teams says it will be a lot closer than ladder positions suggest. Walpeup Underbool will be hoping that a turnaround in form over the last few weeks, combined with a home ground advantage, will be enough to cause the upset of the season.

The Roos will be well rested after having a bye last week and are hoping to field a strong team for this game. They have a great balance of youth and experience and when the Roos have 21 players contributing, they demonstrate a style of play capable of matching any team in the competition.

Sea Lake Nandaly will be looking to put in a solid four-quarter performance this week. In recent matches the Tigers have had sluggish starts, but managed to ‘flick a switch’ and turn things around to get over the line.

They will be concentrating on coming out of the blocks strongly and putting their opposition on the back foot, then building momentum throughout the game. Their forwards don’t need a lot of opportunity to kick a winning score. If their backline can hold up like it has all year and their onballers get the ball inside 50 regularly, there is no doubt the Tigers will show why they are clearly ahead of the rest.

By Dale Shannon