Liam Durkin
THE July Test is upon competitors in the Gippsland League.
As the nights get colder, darker and longer, teams will be challenged with negotiating what is typically the hardest stage of the season mentally.
Players have had a week’s rest to prepare for those challenges following a league-wide bye.
While this time of year can often be seen as ‘no man’s land’, with finals still some time off, the heavier grounds can also mean there is every chance outsiders get up, throwing further complexities into the mix as far as ladder positions go.
Historically, teams that have good Julys have good Septembers, as they sew up finals positions and are then afforded the luxury of plotting a course for the post-regular season.
With this in mind, those at the top end of the ladder will be fighting to give themselves this luxury, while those below will be aiming to unsettle a few teams with perhaps too much focus on September.
There is possibly only one type who really enjoys this time of year – fringe players.
They are bound to get opportunities, and while others are loathing conditions, they could see this as the lucky break they need.
SALE gets an extra day’s rest.
The Magpies travel to Bairnsdale on Sunday, facing a game they just need to win.
Sale hangs onto fifth spot, and the last available spot in finals by one game. With Morwell breathing down their neck, the Magpies can get a two-game break on their nearest challenger if they win and Moe defeats Morwell.
While those two results are expected, both are far from formalities.
The Magpies lost to Bairnsdale earlier in the season, and Morwell is usually good for at least one upset a season, especially against a Latrobe Valley-based team.
There hasn’t been too many surprises in Sale’s form line over the last four games, with the team winning the games they have been expected to and competing strongly in the others.
Sale continues to be beset with chopping and changing its line-up, and will hope the extra day gives them a chance to welcome some key players back.
The Magpies have only had eight players play every game this season: Cooper Whitehill, Nathan Whitford, Jarrod Freeman, Daine McGuiness, Josh Butcher, Jack Leslie, Will Leslie and Jack McLaren.
With time still on their side however, Sale has been working its way through availability as best it can, and given the performances of the reserves, who have beaten top-five sides Traralgon, Leongatha and Maffra in amongst all that, there is enough to suggest Sale is getting some players back in time for the business end.
Before that however, they will need to overcome a side that is generally five goals better at home.
Bairnsdale will no doubt be smarting after becoming the first team to hand Drouin a win, and Sale can ill-afford to take them lightly.
TRARALGON will aim to make it four wins in a row.
The Maroons are set to welcome Maffra to Terry Hunter Oval, in a game Traralgon must win to stay on track to secure the double-chance.
The home side will start heavy favourite against a team facing a long rebuild.
Maffra’s last two weeks before the bye were challenging, losing by their biggest margin in 25 years to Wonthaggi, before going down to arch-rival Sale.
The Eagles kicked just two goals against the Power, and kicked all their goals against Sale in the third quarter, meaning across eight quarters of football in two weeks, Maffra has only scored in three.
While they will be out to win first and foremost, Traralgon might be mindful of their percentage.
Factoring in percentage, the Maroons are effectively two games off Wonthaggi in second, so if given the chance to really bury Maffra tomorrow, the Maroons will surely take it.
Traralgon’s firepower up forward in the likes of Brett Eddy and Billy Schilling presents a good chance for the Maroons to kick a score well into triple figures.
Conversely, it presents a good learning opportunity for young Maffra defenders like Jonathan Boyd and Zach Felsbourg.
Traralgon might also have added motivation for the rest of the season, following a story appearing in a state-wide publication that the premiership race was down to three clubs – one of which wasn’t Traralgon.
MORWELL is hosting another rivalry game.
Having welcomed Traralgon the week before the break, the Tigers are now preparing to take on Moe.
The home side goes into the contest under no illusions it simply needs to keep winning in order to have any chance of playing finals.
Morwell is one game off fifth-placed Sale, and with ‘should win’ games to come against Drouin and Maffra, the Tigers could see this weekend’s match as a chance to ignite a hot streak.
The Tigers proved their capability in the Traralgon game, and were only a couple of goals down midway through the final term before the Maroons kicked away.
Morwell will take some confidence out of this, and look to replicate what they produced in the second quarter against the Maroons.
In that term, they were able to score four goals in slippery conditions, with some good overlap run a highlight.
Brandon Mcauliffe was productive up forward and on the ball, and was one of several young Morwell players that looks to be leading the next generation of Tiger stars.
Moe by contrast are expected to take a more experienced team into the encounter, which could prove advantageous.
Going off the previous game, the Lions had 17 players that had played more than 50 games at Gippsland League level or higher, compared to Morwell who had around 10.
On that basis, as well as the fact Moe is third on the ladder, the Lions will start favourite.
Although Moe is coming off a one-point loss to fellow top-three side Wonthaggi, confidence will be high in the Moe camp after they came back from more than five goals down in that game to very nearly steal it.
With a four-game gap between fourth and fifth on the ladder, the Lions will want to demonstrate just how big a gap there is between those fighting for a double chance and those fighting just to play finals.
Moe veterans Ben Morrow and Tom Long were both inducted as Moe FNC life members before the bye, and there could be added motivation to ensure their first game as official legends is a positive one.
There could be some friendly-fire in the match, with former Moe players Darnell Grech and Josh Galea possibly coming up against their old side, as well as former Casey VFL teammates Riley Baldi and Aidan Quigley squaring off in the midfield for Moe and Morwell respectively.
The Lions have been kissed on the proverbial with the fixture for the rest of the season, as four of their last seven games are at home, and six are in the Latrobe Valley.
An away game to Maffra in Round 17 presents the only genuine road trip, so Moe could just about be walking down the red carpet to a double-chance before then.
DROUIN has the chance to climb off the bottom of the ladder.
The Hawks take on western counterpart Warragul in the other Sunday match.
While a match between ninth and 10th wouldn’t evoke much interest from the neutral supporter, for the clubs involved, this will be every bit as keenly contested as a final.
Drouin will be riding high following their maiden win, in stark contrast to the Gulls, who have not won a game since Round 4.
The last few weeks have indeed been challenging for Warragul, with two 100-point losses in their last four games.
Injury and unavailability has been pushed to the limit, with a reported 30 players on the side lines for the Gulls.
However, a clash against the neighbour means Warragul will be pulling out all the stops to try and go 2-0 up on Drouin in 2023.
Drouin, surely buoyed by their victory last round, will be riding a wave of confidence.
The Hawks could actually go from last to eighth if they win and Maffra loses, as their percentage is greater than the Eagles’ and the Gulls’.
HAVE fun covering this one, Sentinel Times.
It is one versus two as Leongatha heads over to Wonthaggi.
The Parrots hold what appears to be the only advantage on paper, as they have won 10 games compared to the Power’s one.
Apart from that, there is little, if anything that separates the sides. Both have a percentage over 200, Wonthaggi has an eight-game winning streak, while Leongatha has lost just one of its last 39.
Last time these two sides met, the Parrots prevailed by three points.
Interestingly, according to statistics provided by isports from that game, Leongatha won the free kick count by 14.
