Tom Hayes

PEOPLE will be watching Round 13 of the North Gippsland Football-Netball League with heavy intent tomorrow.

A couple of games are set to determine how things pan out as the season heads to the pointy end.

 

ALL eyes will be on Woodside and Traralgon Tyers United when they take to the field in a first versus second battle.

The two sides last faced-off in Round 2, which saw the still undefeated TTU claim four points in a gutsy 11-point win at home.

Despite their best efforts, it was Woodside’s first term that let them down, conceding a five-goal margin in the opening half an hour.

Woodside looked to have patched-up a few things, and are also undefeated since that loss.

During parts of this season, the Wildcats looked like one of the most devastating teams to face, but now the Bombers look to have reclaimed that title.

It will be one for the ages in Woodside this weekend, with the winner bound to take home favouritism for the flag.

But with that comes a whole lot of pressure.

There is still so much footy to be played this season, but one can only think this might be a dress rehearsal for a potential Grand Final.

 

YALLOURN Yallourn North will host Yarram in another game that is setting up to be an enticing one.

The Jets’ momentum came to a grinding halt at the hands of Woodside last week, who put them in their place to the tune of 52 points.

On the other hand, Yarram has found some renewed confidence after a string of successes have kept their finals hunt alive.

In the Demons’ last two games, they have handed out some serious statements, defeating Glengarry by 51 points, backing it up with an impressive 39-point win over Churchill.

The winner of this contest will be on top of the other at the end of the round, edging them one step closer to a finals berth.

The Jets at home against a side lower on the ladder is usually a pretty major selling point, yet Yarram look to have found another gear and could take this all the way.

A great contest is on the cards here, and it could be an important one for YYN, as they will need to get the jump on Yarram as the season heads toward finals.

Yarram appear to have an easier run into finals following this weekend’s game (Gormandale, Cowwarr, Sale City, Woodside), compared to the Jets (Rosedale, Heyfield, Glengarry, Churchill).

 

CHURCHILL will have one goal and one goal only: win.

The Cougars have undoubtedly dipped in form as of late, which was largely spoken by the shock 39-point loss to Yarram on the Demons’ deck last weekend.

However, they will be after nothing less than four points tomorrow when they travel to Rosedale to face the Blues.

Churchill has faced injury setbacks throughout the mid-section of the season, including the big outs of Chris Williams, Ben Kearns, Chris Kyriacou and Tyson Leys, which have clearly had an effect on their playing style.

As for Rosedale, they themselves will have some added motivation, coming off the back of a 14-point win over Glengarry, which kept them in eighth on the ladder.

A goal of finishing seventh and ahead of Sale City is not out of question, with the title of ‘best of the rest’ on the line.

 

HEYFIELD are fresh off the bye and will be fit and firing.

The Roos enjoyed two big wins before their bye (Yarram by 43 points, Rosedale by 78 points), giving them a well-deserved break.

But now back in action until finals time, Heyfield still has some work to do to solidify their position.

The hard work starts now when they host Glengarry, with a string of uncertainties yet to play out (Churchill in Round 14, followed by YYN and TTU) which could affect the trajectory of their season.

Glengarry has been good in patches this season, but have just been unable to get their season out of second gear.

Despite being in some games at points, the Magpies have lost their last four games and will be eager to return to the winners’ list, it just appears unlikely to be tomorrow.

Heyfield’s youth has been impressive this year and continue to be so, week in week out.

A win here for Heyfield will give them some confidence to rally against the big top three of TTU, Woodside and Churchill in the next three weeks, whereas a loss could have them seeing red by the time August comes around.

 

SALE City will welcome Gormandale to Stephenson Park to try and bring their season back to life.

A win here will have the Bulldogs a game outside the top six, which would still make it a tall order to make finals, but they would have a slim chance.

A loss would not only give Gormandale their first win of the season, but also put a line through Sale City’s finals chances.

Expect Sale City to put the Tigers to the sword and be as ruthless as possible, in order to establish some sort of fight in their last five games.

Gormandale will be ever-present and shouldn’t be taken lightly, as they very nearly claimed their first win of the season last week against Cowwarr.

 

COWWARR has the bye.