IT will be the battle for the wooden spoon tomorrow when South Gambier hosts North Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park for Round 13 of Western Border football.
Both teams have struggled with consistency this season and with just two wins apiece, finals hopes are all but out of reach with just four minor round games remaining in 2018.
Demons coach Heath Mitchell has done well to lead his young squad to two victories so far, but the team lacks the experience to tackle the depth of sides like Casterton Sandford or Millicent.
Its first win for the year was against the Tigers in their previous meeting in Round 8, while that was backed up by a massive victory over reigning premiers East Gambier in the wet the following week.
South will be out to replicate that Round 8 result on its home deck tomorrow, but North will be hungry for a win after a dismal performance against the Saints last week.
The Tigers were on the back foot for the length of the match and they will want to hit hard from the first siren to set up an early lead against the Demons.
Despite showing glimpses of its 2017 form – which saw it finish runner-up in last year’s grand final – North has been far from the benchmark it has set in recent years.
However, there have been some instances where the team has reclaimed its former glory, with its 16-point win over the Bulldogs in Round 11 a prime example.
This game saw Hamish Telford best-on-ground for North and he has proven he can make a big impact around the ground this year.
Joined by the likes of Glen Soper, Sam Stafford and Mayson Ashby – among others who have shown solid form this year – and on paper the Tigers should have the win in the bag.
But this season has been known to throw the obvious out the window and it is difficult to know what to expect prior to game day.
For South, Brayden Kain will be out for another bag of goals in front of a home crowd, with the accurate Demon still leading the league goal-kicking with a total of 40 – five clear of the Cats’ Callum Currie.
The return of Brad Bryant to the lineup has added some experience back into the young brigade and he will come off a solid Round 12 effort against West Gambier.
He will help the likes of Nick Tarca and Jake Tentye create passage to Kain up front and that will be something the Tigers will need to address if they are to prevent the Demons from running away with the win.
Though this clash has little effect on the top four, neither side will want to finish bottom of the ladder and tomorrow will likely determine which club takes out the wooden spoon for the season.
