Shepp News |
Shepparton United coach Marc Quarrell warned none of his players’ positions were safe ahead of their preliminary final showdown with Shepparton Swans on Sunday.
Quarrell said even veteran forward Matt Forys, who had a dirty day that ended in defence, was not a certain starter.
Tom Sheldon dominated Forys in the opening half and Quarrell tried moving the latter to a deep forward position away from the Kyabram star to spark him, but to no avail.
‘‘Put it this way, it will certainly be looked at and looked at hard,’’ Quarrell said of potential team changes.
‘‘There were some performances out there that probably don’t warrant a prelim final.
‘‘Who says (Forys) is going to play? When it gets to this time of year, regardless of who you are, you’ve got to play good footy. That’s the way it’s got to be.’’
United’s much-maligned midfield copped a hammering, but Quarrell stood by his engine room as it prepared to face the Swans’ deep on-ball brigade.
Former skipper Tyson Sidebottom’s best-on-ground showing for the Swans at the weekend was a stark reminder of what the Demons no longer have.
‘‘When you get down to the last three, they’re strong everywhere — forwards, backs and mids,’’ Quarrell said.
‘‘We don’t fear that. We just have to get ourselves up.
‘‘We think we had a bad day. We’re not saying Ky had a day out — they were very good and play that footy all the time — but we think we had a very ordinary day.’’
Brodie A’Vard, Sidebottom and Jamason Daniels were three players who caught Quarrell’s eye in the Swans’ seven-point win over Benalla on Saturday.
‘‘I thought Benalla was going to come out and get on top in that second half, but, to the Swans’ credit, they had a lot more run left than Benalla did,’’ he said.
‘‘You’re a bloody good side if you’re still in the comp at this time of the year. We’re going to have to be at our best to beat them.’’
Kyabram coach David Williams said he would endeavour to organise a training run on Saturday for his side on Deakin Reserve, the venue of the grand final.
Williams said they would train next weekend regardless of if that wish was granted.
