The Southern Mallee Giants are hoping to keep their top 2 dreams alive when they take on Woomelang Lascelles at Beulah this week.

They need to win this week, then for the Cats to go down in the final round to play in the second semi-final against Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers.

While the Giants need a few things to go their way for this second chance, there is no doubt they will be looking to use the confidence they gained in a 125 point thrashing of Ouyen United last week, to again put together four quarters of intense, free flowing football.

They will need all guns blazing as they did last week to defeat the Cats who are also coming in with strong form. Both teams will be looking to lock down on key players to reduce their impact. Trent Donnan has been named his team’s best player 8 times of their 14 games. He holds an obvious key to their success with his ability to win contested possessions and his efficiency by hand and foot, particularly under pressure.

For the Giants Kain Robins is coming off a season high 12 goals. While he was a standout in their win last week, it was his team’s pressure up the ground to create turnovers and get the ball inside 50 quickly that gave him multiple opportunities to mark the ball one-out against his opponent.

The Giants have won 2 of the 3 encounters so far this year, however every match has been hard fought, neither team able to get on top of the other for the whole game. With plenty to fight for this is sure to be a great battle.

Ouyen United will be licking their wounds after a disappointing loss last week and will look to improve in a few areas when they take on the Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers at home.

Things just didn’t go to plan for the Demons last week. Seven senior players down, and losing utility Colin Keatch early in the second quarter, was always going to make it difficult to maintain structure. Depending on how many players return for this week’s clash, this may be the case again. However, I am sure that the younger players learnt a few lessons last week, and the experience of Dean Staunton and Henry Armour will provide on-ground leadership.

Coming off the bye the Tigers will be using the last 2 home and away games to consolidate their team to remain a steady force. The players won’t have forgotten about the loss in their last game. They need to get back on the winner’s list and restore the confidence they had built through a dominant season up until that point.

By Dale Shannon