Rams enter series as finals wildcard
atimuk United will take on a role as a potential ‘underdog spoiler’ when Horsham District football finals kick off at Quantong on Saturday.
The Rams have been fantastic and dreadful and everything in between in this upturned season and by sneaking into the finals could well upset the proverbial applecart.
If you listen to the experts, Natimuk United apparently has no hope of upsetting perennial powerhouse Harrow-balmoral in the first of two elimination finals this weekend.
But the game has ventured into a finals environment, which in many cases has traditionally levelled out expectations and on more than one occasion made everything that’s happened during the build-up irrelevant.
What an absence of fans – a requirement for games to go ahead amid the pandemic – does for finalists remains an unknown. But player emotions and desire to move their teams onto the next stage are sure to remain unchanged.
Both the Rams and Southern Roos go into the Saturday contest fresh from comprehensive last-round victories, with perhaps the Roos’ win more profound in a finals context.
Harrow-balmoral belted fellow finalist Jeparit-rainbow, scheduled to play Kalkee in the second elimination game at Harrow on Sunday, by a massive 82 points.
The Southern Roos had established an almost 10-goal lead at half time at Jeparit and were relentless, finishing with 30 scoring shots to 13.
The Roos, with James Staude, who led the charge last week with seven goals and combining with the likes of Simon Close, Will Plush and Nick Pekin, are threatening to produce a similar result at Quantong.
Natimuk United rated as a competition enigma early in the season, crashing badly against notable opponents on occasions, but has won its last three games, its latest against Kaniva-leeor United by 46 points.
It comes as little surprise that utility and recognised on-field leader Sam
Anson has been at the forefront of the Rams’ late-season form.
On Saturday against the Cougars Dylan Bates also shone, alongside others such as Alex Ridsdale and Kyal Murray. Alex Baker kicked four goals.
A major weapon for the Rams this weekend will be Nathan Koenig, who kicked five goals at the weekend and took his season tally to 45. How he performs could well dictate what happens in the game. There could well be a shootout at either end of the ground.
The second elimination final features just as much intrigue, especially on the back of Jeparit-rainbow’s hefty loss to the Roos.
The Storm meets Kalkee at Harrow and will need to quickly regroup and regain a competitive edge. The loss was the first in several rounds for what had been a barnstorming run home.
The likes of Ash Clugston, Jay Kirwood and Scott Driscoll won recognition for their latest games, but the Storm will need more personnel on song to rattle Kalkee.
It’s questionable, however, whether
Kalkee’s preparation was much better, albeit for a completely different reason.
The Kees, predictably, ended their home-and-away season over a struggling Laharum, winning by more than 20 goals.
Apart from the likes of Jordan Motton, six goals, Corey Williams and Ben Lawson, four each, and a variety of others enjoying goal-kicking practice, it remains to be seen whether this is good finals preparation.
In the end, winning form is probably good form and the Kees have players such as Matt Nield, Hamish Exell, Jasper Gunn and Jordan Johns in good nick.
Listening for details of both games will be minor premier Noradjuha-quantong and second-placed Rupanyup, which will need to wait a week to get a taste of the finals.
Noradjuha-quantong hammered Edenhope-apsley at the weekend and Rupanyup was a 10-goal better side than Taylors Lake.
Swifts, meanwhile, will be lamenting missing a finals berth, ending the season with a 125-point victory over Pimpinio.
Despite all the upheaval and anxiety surrounding COVID-19, abandoned rounds and uncertainty as a regular companion, the competition, at least up until yesterday, had managed to navigate its way to the finals.
Teams that have missed the finals – Swifts, Kaniva-leoor United, Taylors Lake, Laharum, Edenhope-apsley and Pimpinio – will put the footies away and consider what opportunities loom in 2022.