Jim Gordon previews this weekends upcoming Mallee Football League matches.

Hopetoun v Jeparit Rainbow

This week the winless Hopetoun take on arch rivals Jeparit Rainbow at Hopetoun. The Devils have had a harrowing season and face the Lakers who will be all fired up after last week's narrow loss against the Demons. With just an outside chance to challenge for the four, Jeparit Rainbow should be too strong all over the ground for Hopetoun. The Lakers have their season to play for; the Devils can't wait for their season to finish.

The loss to Ouyen United hurt the Jeparit Rainbow players. For the first time this year the team played four consistent quarters of high standard football, but fell just short. They won in the ruck and had a dominant midfield and will be strengthened this week by a couple of key playmakers returning from injury.

Simon Clugston and Adam Schultz could be a chance to return and Ben Zanker is on the way back after a good showing in the reserves last week. Zanker would have to come in for consideration and will be a welcome addition to the side.

Jeparit Rainbow's Ben Marra did well last week to hold Damien Cupido to five goals. He comes up against another tough opponent this week in Bryce Wellington and will have to play just as close and tough this week. Hopetoun's drive has come from far too few players this year. Liam Price, Zac Robbins and Deek Roberts have had to do the bulk of the work for the Devils. Unless they can get more support, the result could get ugly.

Another positive for the Lakers from last week's loss was the form of Nathan Millard. Like the other Darwin recruits, it has been a sharp learning curve adapting to football in the Mallee for talented Millard. These welcome newcomers to Jeparit Rainbow have found that our MFL game may not be as quick as the game they are used to, but it is much more physical and requires a rethink to be competitive. Although it has taken time for them to adjust, the signs are looking good for the Lakers and the players' persistence is paying off.

Joel Schulze in the ruck for Jeparit Rainbow is a key player. Last week he gave his midfielders first use of the ball and the Lakers got a lot of drive out of the centre from the likes of Heath Clugston, Chris Meyer and Elliott Bath. If Schulze can hold his own in the ruck duels or get on top, it frees up the other Laker big men in Josh McCleary and Gregg McLeish to play up forward.

Ouyen United v Beulah

The last time these two sides met, Beulah just held on for a narrow win in an emotion charged afternoon of high class, tight and tense football at Beulah. United did well to field a side that day as it was only hours earlier that they had lost their club President and MFL stalwart Tony Cua. Tony would have been desperately proud of his boys that day as they clawed their way back into the contest after conceding a big quarter time deficit.

Since that memorable game, the Blues have gone on to bigger and better things, whereas the Demons' form has been patchy. There is little doubt that if United was able to field a full strength side playing at their peak they could more than match it with Beulah. However, the reality is that at the moment, they are not producing winning football against the top sides.

Beulah is a top class outfit with talent to burn right across the ground. Dennis Redden has had a wonderful season and can be relied upon to regularly score goals from half forward; Micah and Callum Buchanan have slotted in to the Blue's midfield seamlessly and last week both Peter and Tyler Lehmann added to their side's goal kicking depth. Shaun Monohan is amongst Beulah's best each week, Brad Shannon is back and as yet, David King has not been able to contribute due to injury. Their one loss for the season was from the last kick of the day against the Roos.

Ouyen United desperately need Laurence Angwin fit and able to play. With Peter Caldow also missing, the Dees lack drive around the midfield. Last week Ben Mole played well in the ruck, Damien Cupido still scored five goals on what was a quiet day for him and their defence held up against a rampaging Jeparit Rainbow. United will welcome back speedster Jerry Wilson missing last week through injury.

The Demons will need to be quick out of the blocks if they hope to match it with the Blues. If Beulah gets a break early, there will be no coming back for United this time around. It is getting too close to finals time for the Blues to risk a loss and potentially the double chance.

Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers v Walpeup Underbool

In the match of the day Walpeup Underbool travel to Sea Lake to take on the Tigers who will be eager to make up for last week's fade out against the Blues. Well in the game at three quarter time, Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers failed to score in the final term to not only lose, but also have their hold on a top two spot badly shaken. If they lose to Walpeup Underbool this week, it may be hard for them to retain second spot on the ladder and with it, the vital double chance.

The Roos will welcome back into their star-studded line up, big man Josh Charles who has had an injury affected season so far. His duel in the ruck with talented youngster Dan McEwan will be critical to both teams. If McEwan (who is having a very good year) can get on top, his talented midfielders lead by Col Durie and Darcy Ryan, will make it that much harder for the Roos to dominate.

Yet it is in the centre that Walpeup Underbool can do a lot of damage to opposition sides. David Piasente is getting back to his ominous form from last year, Kane Munro seems to like the freedom of the midfield and Tyson Gordon is winning a lot of the ball and scoring when he goes forward.

Champion full forward Wade Champion is another Roo getting back into premiership form. He will score goals, but it will not be easy against the tight and cohesive Tiger backline lead by Stephen Lyons, John Guthrie and this year James and Tom Summerhayes have given the Tigers a lot of run from defence and in attack.

Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers would not have liked losing to the Blues last week. The last time these two sides met, the Tigers were in control for most of the game so the Roos will need to start the game well this time, or risk playing catch up football - never an easy task against a team like the Tigers.

Expect Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers to come out firing on all cylinders, but even their very best will not be enough to outlast the talented Walpeup Underbool side, cruising nicely towards finals football.

By Jim Gordon