With just six rounds remaining in the
East Gippsland Football Netball League season, traditional rivals Lakes Entrance and Orbost Snowy Rovers are locked in a high-stakes battle for the all-important fourth
spot on the ladder.
Boisdale Briagolong (36 points) remain the runaway league leader, with Lindenow and Wy Yung (both 28 points) heading the chasing pack. Despite some recent indifferent form, the Cats look assured of a finals berth courtesy of a strong percentage. Meanwhile, reigning premier Wy Yung is gathering serious momentum and looms as the biggest threat to the Bombers with key players set to return.
That leaves the final top-four vacancy down to a direct shootout between Orbost Snowy Rovers (28 points) and Lakes Entrance (24 points). The Blues currently hold a pivotal 34 per cent advantage, which could
prove decisive.
If both sides defeat the teams below them and fall to those above, the August 8 blockbuster between Lakes Entrance and Orbost at Lakeside Oval will effectively become a virtual elimination final.
Lakes Entrance will return from the league-wide bye fresh and determined to bounce back from a pre-bye loss to Boisdale Briagolong. While the Bombers blew the Seagulls
away in the opening term of that clash, Lakes took immense confidence from matching the competition benchmark for the final
three quarters. Crucially, the Seagulls
remain the only team to have defeated the top-placed Bombers this season.
Lakes Entrance coach Darren Martin remains highly bullish about his side’s
flags aspirations.
“We have shown this season that we are capable of beating every side in the competition,” Martin said.
“If we get the right personnel and close to our best side on the park over the next month and a half, we could win our last six matches.”
The Seagulls were heavily undermanned for the Boisdale trip, missing Sam and
Logan Brown, Dylan Nikolajew, Tom Hudson, Angus Stevens and Josh Wykes. Martin expects to boast a virtually full list to choose from this week against a Lindenow outfit looking to rebound after dropping their
last match to Wy Yung.
“We should have strong line-ups in both the seniors and reserves this week,” Martin said.
Tactically, the match looms as a classic battle at the stoppages. Lindenow veterans Justin Gould and David Donchi have been turning back the clock to drive the Cats’ top-two push, alongside the club’s next generation of stars led by Xavier Cook and Peter Harrison.
They will face stiff opposition from the Seagulls’ Mitch Banner, who is enjoying a superb season and remains firmly in league best-and-fairest contention. It will be interesting to see if Lakes opts to play Wykes in tandem with James Beha to combat Lindenow’s high-profile ruck duo of Jake Richards and Dion Grace, or if Martin continues to deploy Wykes as a heavy-bodied ruck-rover.
Orbost Snowy Rovers will be aiming to leverage their formidable home-ground advantage at Lochiel Park to throw a major spanner in the works against the ladder-leading Bombers this Saturday.
Since dropping their round eight clash to Lakes Entrance, the Blues have grit out impressive, momentum-building victories over Lucknow and Paynesville. Mid-season additions Byron Vickery and Max Welsh have added vital depth to the Blues’ rotations, benefiting heavily from the two-week
training window over the bye.
They face a daunting task against a depth-heavy Boisdale Briagolong side led by superstars Tom Jolly, Kade Renooy, Kel Porter, Jackson Glenane, and the in-form Jimmy Reeves. The Bombers are also expected to welcome back a wealth of talent that
missed their pre-bye match.
Adding to the high stakes at Lochiel Park, the afternoon will feature significant off-field action, with former AFL star turned mental health advocate Tom Boyd in attendance alongside a representative from the Melbourne Vixens netball franchise.
