WEEK 1 finals Preview
Spring has sprung right on cue for week one of the 2022 SS&A OMFNL finals series, with a magnificent weather forecast for both days football and netball action.
Saturday will see Round 17 opponents Yarrawonga and Albury do battle at the WJ Findlay Oval in Wangaratta. The clash two weeks ago was an absolute thriller, with a brave Tiger outfit falling in the last five minutes to the Pigeons three late goals.
Albury’s injury concerns have been well documented with star midfielders Anthony Miles, Daniel Cross, and Jake Gaynor all out for the season. However, history has shown the Tigers are at their best with its backs to the walls, with the club smothered in momentous finals victories against the odds.
Albury won the Round 8 clash by three points, with the Pigeons winning a fortnight ago by eight points. The two clubs have plenty of recent finals history against each other. Lucas Conlan will have the big job on curtailing Yarrawonga’s Doug Strang Medal winner Leigh Williams who finished with 67 goals in just eleven games.
A positive for Albury last week was the return of Fletcher Carroll and Jimmy Grills, with both playing very well and adding some speed and experience to the Tigers. The midfield mayhem creators in Michael Gibbons, Mark Whiley, Nick Fothergill, Harry and Willie Wheeler should see the Pigeons prevail.
The elimination final on Sunday at the Albury Sportsground looms as one of the games of the season, with both teams in winning form and confidence growing. The Saints won the season opening clash by just three points and then in round 14 stormed home in the last quarter to win by eleven points.
The Rovers have won its last three matches and will start a slight favourite. They may recall Tyson Hartwig who has not played a senior game this year and just three in the Reserves. The Myrtleford midfield pair of Sam Martyn and Mitch Dalbosco tore the Hawks apart in the final term of its most recent clash.
The Hawks running power generated by Sam Murray is its one wood to the game plan. Alex Marklew with fifty goals has been a bit of a lone ranger up forward for the Rovers. If Brodie Filo, Dylan Stone, and Jack Gerrish dominate across the middle of the ground Wangaratta Rovers will be very hard to beat. Nick Warnock and Riley Sharp are both good targets up forward for Myrtleford and with a five-goal effort last week from Riley Bouker they can be dangerous. Wangaratta, who have the week off playing, will use it to assess and rehab some injury concerns from round eighteen including stat defender Jamie Anderson knee concerns.
The Qualifying netball final should be a gem with Yarrawonga and Lavington clashing with the Panthers having held the advantage in the home and away encounters. The Panthers stunned Yarrawonga on Easter Sunday with a 49-38 win and then repeated the dose at Lavington in round 11 winning a tight contest by just two goals.
While both losses stung the Pigeons they were not at full strength, and this Saturdays final presents a wonderful opportunity for them to reverse the results. Laura Irvine will play her 250th club game for the Pigeons. Irvine won the Toni Wilson Medal in 2015 as well as many premierships as player and coach.
Lavington have been a real success story having bounced back quickly from a lot of player and coaching changes in the last three years. The finals experience of the Pigeons should see them start favourite with the goal shooting efficiency battle between Bridgette Cassar and Panthers Maddy Plunkett a real key.
Defending premiers from the last two grand finals Wangaratta will take on Albury in the elimination final with Albury by luck of the venue allocation getting a home court. The Magpies were really hitting their straps with five straight wins between Rounds 13 and 17 before Yarrawonga brought them back a peg last week in a big loss. They have shown enough to suggest their best game could take them back into the Grand Final, however their worst form could see them exit finals this week.
The Tigers just scrapped into the playoffs finishing half a game ahead of North Albury. Like their opponent the difference between best and worse is quite large. Hannah Grady, Issy Byrne and goal shooting machine Georgia Clark will need to be monitored by the Tigers if they are to cause the upset. The form and consistency of Tigers Heidi Fisher, Skye Hillier and Karina Cameron may be enough to get Alison Meani enough opportunities under the ring to post a winning score.
All finals of football and netball will be live streamed via Optus O&M TV and broadcast on 1494 2AY, 1566 3NE and OAK FM.
