BRUISE OR LOSE, SAYS CAPTAIN
SORELL captain Mark Johnson says if his side is to have any chance of upsetting Huonville at a mud-spattered Pembroke Park on Saturday, it must beat the Lions at their own bruising game in a match-up crucial to ladder positions on the eve of SFL finals.
With just four rounds to go, Saturday’s result is set to play a huge role in the final standings. The Lions are sitting in third spot, just a game clear of Dodges Ferry, while the Eagles sit fifth with an improving Brighton hot on their heels just one game back.
After wins against struggling sides
Hobart and Claremont in the past two weeks, Johnson (inset above) said the Eagles were looking to put the league on notice with a win over the Lions in a bid to end their long finals drought.
“It’s good to get a few wins up against teams we should be winning against, but it would be nice to get a win against the teams above us as well,” he said.
“This weekend is a good opportunity for us to stamp ourselves against a better team like the Huonville Lions, who have been a finals staple for the last few years and the premier just two years ago.
“We haven’t played finals since 2009, so we really want to try to stamp ourselves into the finals this year, which would be a good achievement for the club. But we aren’t just hoping for finals, we want to see if we can bat deep into them, and beating Huonville this week would give us a good head of steam for the rest of the season.”
Johnson said while both teams were hoping to play a quick brand of footy, the condition of Pembroke Park meant it would likely be a bruising encounter.
“We’d like it to be a little bit more open for our run and spread, but against the Lions it’ll be a nice tight contest because (the ground) is definitely a heavy tent and not improving any time soon.
“At the moment, with the ground the way it is, it might be a real scrappy affair.”
The well-built midfielder said a key to beating the Lions would be winning the ball at the coalface, noting Lions skipper Brady Jones was a man who needed to be stopped.
“Brady is obviously one of their big strengths, which is their inside mids,’’ Johnson said.
“They are very strong at the contest, and their willingness to win and work for each other is something we want to adapt into our game.
“If we emphasise beating them at the footy and winning contested footy, we should be OK.”
The Eagles-Lions match at Pembroke Park gets under way at 2pm.