IT is crunch time for Moe’s Gippsland League finals aspirations this weekend when it hosts Wonthaggi in round 13.
The Lions are currently sixth on the table, one win behind the Power in fifth, meaning Saturday’s showdown is an eight-point swing in the making which could make or break their finals ambitions.
Only one per cent separates the two on differential, meaning Saturday’s winner will occupy a top five spot at the conclusion of the round.
Moe coach James Blaser was blunt in his assessment of the situation, labelling it a “must-win game”.
“There’s not much more you can say about it, it’s a must win if we want to make it easy for ourselves toward the end of the year,” he said.
“We put a lot of importance on the three rounds, last week, this week and Drouin next week.
“There’s finals spots up for grabs in the seniors and reserves.”
Moe pulled off a heist in its trip to Wonthaggi in round four, 18.11 (119) to 11.9 (75), nullifying the Power on its notoriously treacherous home ground.
The wider expanses of Ted Summerton Reserve should favour the Lions’ run and spread and will reduce the effectiveness of Wonthaggi’s strangling style.
However, the Power proved they could negotiate the ground in their famous preliminary final win against Sale in 2014 and Blaser expects a test.
“We beat them over there but we played really well, so we expect them to come over here and challenge us on our home ground,” he said.
“We’ve got some key matchups for them. There’s three or four (key) positions if you win for the day, will go a long way. They’ve got a couple of big forwards and solid mids and they run pretty hard.”
After a bad run with injury Moe will get some troops back this week.
Gippsland Power’s bye in the TAC Cup this weekend means Matt Pearce will play his first senior game for the season in Lions colours.
Blaser is also hopeful Peter Ainsworth, Darnell Grech and Daniel Risol may also return to the lineup this week.
Luke Webber showed good signs in his return to the reserves last week but will remain there in search of match fitness for the time being.
The Lions will also be pulling for a win to celebrate Jacob Wood’s 100th senior game at the club.
Now into the second half of the season Blaser has been examining the permutations, targeting a minimum eight wins in total.
“We think if you can win eight games this year you might scrape in, you win nine with the way the ladder and the draw looks you’re almost guaranteed a finals spot, so we’ve got five at the moment and there’s six rounds to go,” he said.
“If we can win this week and aim for nine and make it easy for ourselves it’d be nice; it’s a tricky situation so this is a must-win game.”
In other round 13 matches Drouin hosts Maffra, Leongatha plays Bairnsdale, Morwell tackles Warragul and Traralgon travels to Sale.
(1995-2004, 2010-2016)
All matches: Played 41, Moe 12, Wonthaggi 29
At Moe: Played 19, Moe 6, Wonthaggi 13
Last 10 matches: Moe 2, Wonthaggi 8
Last win at Moe: Moe 2015, Wonthaggi 2014
Last five years at Moe: Moe 1, Wonthaggi 4
Last three matches:
2015 (M) Moe 17.9 (111) d Wonthaggi 15.15 (105)
2015 (W) Wonthaggi 21.10 (136) d Moe 1.5 (11)
2016 (W) Moe 18.11 (119) d Wonthaggi 11.9 (75)
Present winning sequence : Moe 1
Highest scores: Moe 22.20 (152) (1998), Wonthaggi 32.13 (205) (1996)
Lowest scores: Moe 1.5 (11) (2015), Wonthaggi 6.9 (45) (1998)
Greatest winning margin: Moe 106 (1998), Wonthaggi 153 (2004)
Most goals (match): Moe 10 J.Meikle (1998), Wonthaggi 12 M.Silver (2004)
(1914-1935 (GFL), 1954-2016)
All matches: Played 213, Sale 97, Traralgon 113, drawn 3
At Sale: Played 99, Sale 54, Traralgon 44, drawn 1
Last 10 matches: Sale 6, Traralgon 4
Last win at Sale: Sale 2014, Traralgon 2015
Last five years at Sale: Sale 3, Traralgon 2
Last three matches:
2015 (S) Traralgon 18.14 (122) d Sale 9.7 (61)
2015 (T) Traralgon 13.10 (88) d Sale 10.7 (67)
2016 (T) Traralgon 20.13 (133) d Sale 11.10 (76)
Present winning sequence: Traralgon 3
Highest scores: Sale 23.17 (155) (1931), Traralgon 29.15 (189) (1994)
Lowest scores: Sale 1.5 (11) (1968), Traralgon 1.10 (16) (1959)
Greatest winning margin: Sale 83 (1934), Traralgon 161 (1994)
Most goals (match): Sale 10 D.Orr (1931), Traralgon 12 P.McCulloch (1994)
(1932-53 (CGFL), 1954-99, 2005-2016)
All matches: Played 184, Morwell 106, Warragul 76, drawn 2
At Morwell: Played 79, Morwell 55, Warragul 24
Last 10 matches: Morwell 8, Warragul 2
Last win at Morwell: Morwell 2015, Warragul 2008
Last five years at Morwell: Morwell 5, Warragul 0
Last three matches:
2015 (M) Morwell 19.16 (130) d Warragul 9.4 (58)
2015 (W) Warragul 16.5 (101) d Morwell 8.9 (57)
2016 (W) Warragul 15.12 (102) d Morwell 11.10 (76)
Present winning sequence: Warragul 2
Highest scores: Morwell 35.14 (224) (1992), Warragul 24.14 (158) (1976 and 1978)
Lowest scores: Morwell 3.3 (21) (1995), Warragul 0.5 (5) (2014)
Greatest winning margin: Morwell 174 (2014), Warragul 74 (1976)
Most goals (match): Morwell 13 D.Preston (1999), Warragul 12 A.Singline (1976)
(1969-1998, 2011-2016)
All matches: Played 73, Bairnsdale 15, Leongatha 57, drawn 1
At Leongatha: Played 37, Bairnsdale 7, Leongatha 30
Last 10 matches : Leongatha 7, Bairnsdale 3
Last win at Leongatha: Leongatha 2015, Bairnsdale 2014
Last five years at Leongatha: Leongatha 3, Bairnsdale 2
Last three matches:
2015 (L) Leongatha 18.8 (116) d Bairnsdale 8.10 (58)
2015 (B) Leongatha 17.19 (121) d Bairnsdale 7.6 (48)
2016 (B) Leongatha 22.13 (145) d Bairnsdale 5.12 (42)
Present winning sequence: Leongatha 3
Highest scores: Leongatha 28.15 (183) (2012), Bairnsdale 19.10 (124) (2014)
Lowest scores: Leongatha 2.7 (19) (2014), Bairnsdale 0.7 (7) (1997)
Greatest winning margin: Leongatha 171 (1998), Bairnsdale 105 (2014)
Most goals (match): Leongatha 9 C.Brown (1992), T.Traill (1998), J.Best (2012), Bairnsdale 11 J.Gibbs (2014)
STATISTICS PROVIDED BY PAUL CARTER
