IT will be a matter of pride on the line when Millicent makes the trip to McDonald Park to face East Gambier in Round 15 of Western Border Football tomorrow.
Last week the Saints had a day they would rather forget, as West Gambier bounded away to a dominant 11-goal victory.
Millicent was heavily undermanned, but regardless, this result would not sit well with Millicent, especially on its home ground and in the clubs heritage round.
It will be out for blood this week and will look to cause a similar upset to the Bulldogs on their home deck.
For East, it also will want to improve from its previous round clash, as it defeated bottom-placed South Gambier by a meagre 18 points.
The Demons would not go down without a fight and even led the chase at half time.
However, in the end the Bulldogs prevailed, but they will need to lift their game this week, especially if the Saints are back to full strength.
Coach Clint Gallio, Tom Hutchesson, Matt Duldig, Hamish Nitschke and Dylan Tincknell – among others – were all absent from the side last week.
Each of these players are potential game changers and East will need to be well prepared for the overwhelming depth the Saints possess in all areas on the field.
Last week Jonah Grimes earned the best-on-ground honours for his effort both in the ruck and around the ground, while Steve Duldig excelled in the backline once again.
Joe Walker also stepped up a level to provide some skill through the midfield, along with the likes of Hamish Gordon and Sam Willis.
Mitchell Reilly led the goal kicking for Millicent with two to his name, but this week Matt Duldig will hope to score a bag.
However, if he is kept quiet, the likes of Dylan Bromley and Willis will provide further options, with both players having claimed impressive hauls throughout the season.
With the current top four all guaranteed a place in finals, tomorrow’s match will be more about preparing for the upcoming major rounds, but that will not mean they will not give it all they have.
For East, which still has around half a dozen of its 2017 premiership players to come back in, it will hope to throw another spanner in the works with an upset win over the Saints.
Last round saw Shem Balshaw with an impressive performance to be named best-on-ground for the Bulldogs, while it was Matt Ferguson who top-scored with four goals.
Jack Dawe and Mark Rumbelow also faired well in front of the big sticks, with three majors each.
At the other end of the ground, Jayden Eldridge put in a solid effort in defence, earning himself second best.
He will need to put in another standout performance this week, in an effort to resist the run Millicent has through the midfield.
Last time the two sides locked horns the Saints led at every change on their home turf to claim a 24-point victory.
That game saw Gordon, Gallio and Nitschke as the Saints’ best, with the latter bagging two goals to top score along with teammate Willis and East’s Balshaw.
The remainder of the majors were shared around by both teams and there was a total of 15 goal scorers for the game.
Teams will hope to see a similar spread at the end of their Round 15 clash, but both sides have players capable of carrying the weight of the score single-handedly.
For the Saints both Matt Duldig and Bromley have demonstrated their talents in front of goal, while for East Mark Rumbelow would like to replicate his six-goal haul from Round 12 and Ferguson will be eager to back up last round’s efforts.
It will likely be another close battle if both sides put forward their best, but with injury still a burden for East, the Saints should take home another confidence boost going into the final minor round next week.
