WESTERN Border Football League’s semi-final clashes are already set in stone and as a result the outcome of the match between North Gambier and East Gambier Vansittart Park holds little importance.
The Tigers have tumbled out of finals contention, while East has a scheduled cut-throat semi-final against West Gambier to prepare for.
The Bulldogs could snatch third-place from the Roos, but regardless of whether they are elevated to that ladder position, they will suit up against West at Island Park next weekend.
East – like several other teams in the Western Border football competition – has suffered from injury woes in 2018, but coach Matt Willson would be pleased to see his side back on track.
The Bulldogs had several footballers from its 2017 premiership return to their list in last weekend’s clash with Millicent and the end result speaks for itself.
East served up an impressive four-quarter effort to put some doubt in the Saints’ minds come September.
Willson will carefully pick his 21 for tomorrow’s encounter and it is no doubt any player with niggling injuries will cheer from the sidelines.
However, the former premiership coach will have no intentions on leaving this match to chance, particularly after East’s shock-loss to the Tigers in Round 11.
The Bulldogs held the lead from the first break, but from there North had all the answers.
The difference at the final siren was 16 points, a result East will hope to turn the tables on as it approaches the business end of the season.
As Round 11 shows, North is no walkover and it will take a four-quarter effort for East to gain the upper-hand.
The two sides met in the grand final rematch in Round 1 of 2018, which – as expected – was a strong contest.
North held the lead at every break, but a last-quarter surge from the Bulldogs handed them their first win of the season.
Just as they did in the 2017 grand final, East went on to defeat North in Round 6, before the Tigers turned the tables in Round 11.
North too has suffered on the ladder due to key-player injuries and has struggled to fill the void due to its lack of depth within its Reserves, unlike in the past.
Nick McInerney and Brock Egan are two huge losses out of the Tigers mid-field and while Fraser Marshall and Glen Soper have been in form, the duo can not win the centre clearances on their own.
Particularly coming up against the likes of Jesse Fry who has returned to the Bulldogs’ list after several weeks on the sidelines.
Fry’s in and under style of football compliments the clean and skilled players of the group such as Willson, Jack Dawe and Jayden Eldridge.
Mark Rumbelow has also began to find his feet and his strong contested marks at centre-half-forward can break games open.
North will need to give the tall forward extra attention – particularly with his confidence after a three-goal haul against Millicent – but lucky for the Tigers, it still boasts a quality back line.
Tim McInerney, Jake Schultz and Mayson Ashby all have the ability to win one-on-one contests.
However, they will have their hands full, particularly with the return of Kevin Thomson.
Thomson has also been absent in recent weeks, having played just 11 of the Bulldogs’ 15 matches.
While he failed to hit the scoreboard against Millicent, he will draw one of the Tigers’ top defenders tomorrow, which opens up opportunities for his team.
Nick Lock was the general of East’s back line in its win over Millicent and he will hope to repeat that performance tomorrow, with help from the likes of Brad Rathjen.
Rathjen – after making the jump from basketball to football last season – has started to find his feet in the sport and his strong hands weighed heavily on the Bulldogs’ result in Round 15.
If both Lock and Rathjen can keep North’s scoring opportunities at bay, it is hard to see the Tigers coming close to winning this contest.
East will use this match as preparation for finals the following week and as a result, a loss is simply not an option.
