ONE sided games look to be the trend in Round 6 of Mid South East football this weekend.
Those in finals contention will battle with the sides lower in the rankings, which makes an unexpected result seem unlikely.
Port MacDonnell v Mount Burr
DEMON coach Ben McGregor is under no illusion about the enormous challenge facing his young team as it prepares to host the reigning premiers.
Mount Burr is currently sitting in second place, having displaced Robe following an impressive 62-point win over the Roosters.
McGregor said the key to success will be to capitalise on every opportunity.
“We did well against Robe as we managed to boot 17.3,” McGregor said,
“Mount Burr is a very good outfit.
“If we are to win, we have to grind like we did against Hatherleigh on Saturday.
“It might not be pretty football but we have to be consistent over four quarters.”
According to McGregor, the home ground advantage has not been evident in the meetings of Mount Burr and Port MacDonnell over the past five seasons.
“We have tended to do well up there, while they have had the edge on us down at the Bay,” he said.
Mount Burr had a surprise inclusion in Round 5 with Jake Dowdy returning from his outback travels.
The rumour mill suggests the former vice-captain will have one more game with the green-and-golds before going on the road again.
Port MacDonnell is also uncertain about who will fill the 21 places as a hamstring injury may again keep Zack Williams on the sidelines.
McGregor said Williams trained last week but is no certainty to play against the reigning premiers.
“Wade Chant is only 19 and he had the chance to captain the side against Hatherleigh,” he said.
“He is in our leadership group along with Jake Turner, Blake Lynch, Daron McElroy and me.
“We don’t have a vice-captain as such.”
There is a buoyant mood in the Mozzie camp and not just because of the good run of form.
Off-the-field, the club has enticed ex-player and Adelaide media identity Leith Forrest to host a sportsmen’s night on May 19.
Forrest will be joined on stage by former Adelaide Crows players Chris McDermott and Tony Modra.
Kalangadoo v Glencoe
KALANGADOO coach Chrissy Mules has a simple philosophy as his side prepares to host neighbours and arch rivals Glencoe.
“They are a good side and they will kick plenty of goals but it is a matter of out-scoring them,” Mules said.
“Zacc Cocks, Dylan Childs and Leigh Von Duve will get plenty of the ball.”
Despite his side being undefeated and sitting at the top of the ladder with five wins, Mules said there was still room for improvement.
“Things are going all right but we need to play a more rounded game.
“We are currently missing three or four players due to injury but we should get back [ex-captain] Jason Bannister back this week.
“He has only played two games so far this year”.
Mules is currently filling the centre half back role for the first time in his career.
This has allowed new vice-captain Mitch Lowe to move into the centre and Mules said he has dominated in this enhanced role.
Glencoe’s fortunes have improved remarkably since its 73-point drubbing at Hatherleigh in the opening round.
Since then, it has lost by only 26 points to Mount Burr, defeated both Tantanoola and Kongorong and has just had a bye.
As well as the trio nominated by Mules, the other aces bound to cause headaches for the Magpies are ruckman Matt Kasparian and teenage forwards Patrick Mitchell and Adam Gregory.
The two teens have been born with the ability to know where the goals and should have long careers ahead of them in the Mid South East Football and perhaps other competitions.
The veteran of the Glencoe team is ex-coach Adam Price and he would be keen to do well against a side which brings out the best in the Murphies.
Robe v Tantanoola
THE Tigers are a chance of success at the seaside as the Roosters went from “chocolates” to “boiled lollies” between rounds 4 and 5.
Robe Football Club vice president Roger Sweetman said the seasiders were taught a football lesson at Mount Burr.
He said the Mozzies applied the pressure to Robe and did to his club what the Roosters had done the previous week against Hatherleigh.
“Their pressure on the ball carrier caused the Robe players to fumble and lose all confidence in each other and their team structure and accurate ball movement deteriorated,” Sweetman said.
“Mount Burr showed the Robe team the effort that is required to be a top team in the league and I am sure coach Jack Kelly and the match committee at Robe learned more about their players and team structure which I am sure they will put into practice over the next few weeks to ensure that the breakdown of their systems doesn’t happen again.
“Robe will regroup because the team has too much talent and experience and will learn from the lessons given out on Saturday.”
The team may be without its acting skipper Jonny Agnew as he suffered a knock early in the Round 5 match at his former home ground of Mount Burr.
Tantanoola coach Josh Peters is coy about the identity of his 21 players as he is repeatedly hinting that another recruit is in the offing.
He is expecting ex-skipper Hayden Brown to again be sidelined with injury concerns.
Peters will welcome Cameron Saint into the ranks after circumstances meant he had to spend some time in the capital city.
“He played with the Kilburn A Grade team in the Adelaide metropolitan area and alongside such ex-MSEFL players as Chad Parks, Dustin Knaggs, Cohen Williams, Zac Watson and Max Bowering,” Peters said.
“We did not play at our best against Nangwarry in the first half.
“The players responded well after my half-time talk.
“We achieved our aim of keeping Nangwarry below five goals and we did not let them score after half-time.”
Peters has nominated Mitch Kipping and Braydn Reilly as Tantanoola’s stand-out players so far in 2018.
Nangwarry v Kongorong
ON paper, this looks like the best opportunity for Nangwarry to end its long losing streak as it is hosting the Hawks who are also yet to win a game in 2018.
The home ground advantage will be a bonus along with the possible return of injured utility player Andrew Russell.
It is perhaps typical of the wretched luck of his team that Russell was injured during a mishap at training.
He has been on the sidelines for the past two matches when Nangwarry has worked hard to reduce the size of its early-season defeats.
With his height, strength and ability to play in the ruck or in defence, club insiders rate Russell as the most valuable player in their lineup.
The same club figures believe he should come into consideration by the MSEFL selectors when they come to chose the training squad for the South East Zone Carnival at Robe on June 9.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are still striving to play four consistent quarters of football and achieve a breakthrough win.
Unless the team can string together some victories, a place in the major round will soon be out of reach.
There is also added interest in the curtain-raiser as the home side is looking for a rare hat-trick of victories but it is up against a team which has not lost in 2018.
