Round 8 Preview
Club football and netball returns for round eight of the SSA OMFNL after the
magnificent interleague performance by all players and official at Moroopna
last week. Another highlight for the league was the induction of Wangaratta Rovers coach Daryn Cresswell into the Sydney Swans Hall of Fame n Thursday evening in Sydney.
What a round it throws up with some absolute belters on offer as the winter conditions take hold across the region.
Match of the Round will be at the Albury Sportsground when the Tigers in third spot, host the Yarrawonga Pigeons who are in second position. The clash will revive memories of past grand finals when the two teams played off in six successive premiership deciders from 2009 to 2014, with Albury winning four and Yarrawonga two.
The great news for the visitors will be the debut of boom recruit and former Carlton star Michael Gibbons after missing with an ongoing calf complaint. Albury have named a very strong side with Daniel Cross and Jimmy Grills both names, while the Conlan boys will relish the big game opportunity.
The John Foord Oval in Corowa has all the makings of a potential season defining outcome for both the Roos and visitors Wodonga. A loss in particular for Wodonga would make its finals ambitions very slim – a loss would leave it three games and considerable percentage out of the five with ten rounds left.
Corowa Rutherglen are just one win away from fourth and fifth spot with a reasonable percentage. Reality is that a loss for them could also mean finals action may be unlikely. The Bulldogs line up is looking good with only notable absentee ruckman Michael Driscoll who is serving his second suspension for the season.
The 2019 grand final opponents Wangaratta and Lavington will clash at the same venue Norm Minns Oval with the unbeaten Pies keen to reverse that outcome. On paper and ladder position it looks like an easy win for the Magpies against seventh placed Panthers. Lavington however have selected its strongest side for the season with Brant Dickson, Luke Garland, Billy Glanvill, Jack Driscoll, and Jack Kirley all returning. Their backline matches up against the Pies trio of Ben Reid, Michael Newton, and Cal Moore better than any in the competition. Scoring goals against the Pies stable and miserly defence led by the Anderson brothers will be the big challenge for the defending premiers.
North Albury who have made huge improvement in the last three rounds will be confident of pushing Wangaratta Rovers at Bunton Park. It will also be the twenty-year premiership reunion when North Albury stormed home to beat the Rovers by 48 points in the 2002 OM grand final. Both new 2022 co coaches Clint Gilson and Corey Lambert played significant roles in that momentous day for the Hoppers with Lambert the premiership coach. Wangaratta Rovers have named Ryan Hebron for his first game, however Brodie Filo who was a late omission in round seven has not been named.
Myrtleford has a great chance to put some gap between teams outside the top five and keep alive its top three ambitions when they travel to Birallee Park against bottom placed Raiders. Nathan Laracy has worked his way back into the Saints side and along with the return of Matt Munro will be favoured to post a big win. A highlight of the contest will be the ruck duel between the inform Isaac Muller and Saints giant Dawson Simpson. Muller form in last week’s interleague was outstanding.
Netball actions resumes after the interleague clash against Goulburn Valley that was marred by a serious Achilles injury to Corowa Rutherglen star Olivia Sinclair. Sinclair the mid court machine will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season following the injury during the third quarter at Moroopna. It is a cruel blow for both Sinclair and the Roos who are on top of the ladder ahead of its clash with bottom placed Wodonga.
Match of the Round will be at Wangaratta when second placed Lavington take on the locals who have slipped to fourth place after three losses so far this year. Lavington with just one loss dodged a bullet in round seven when they narrowly defeated Albury by one goal – expect just as close game on Saturday.
Albury produced one of its best performances of the year against Lavington and will have to bring the same intensity at home to the experienced Pigeons. The Tigers are just half a game out of the top five while a Yarrawonga win would see them secure up a double chance inside the three.
A win for the much-improved Wodonga Raiders at home to Myrtleford and a loss by Wangaratta would see them leap into fourth place. They will need to win as North Albury will go into its clash with Wangaratta Rovers a strong favourite. Raiders and North Albury are both level on points.
