Glengarry will aim to avenge its round one loss when it hosts Sale City in last season’s North Gippsland grand final replay.
Hitting their straps early in the season, the Magpies have quickly found themselves sliding down the ladder after dropping a number of close encounters.
Coach Ryan Potter is expecting improvement from the Magpies, and knows a return to the winners list will help boost his team’s confidence.
“We lost three close ones which was disappointing particularly the game against TTU where we had established a solid lead,” Potter said.
“Saturday is a huge match for us, obviously a win would boost the confidence of our side but also set us up for a number of big matches in coming weeks.”
Highlighting a number of areas for improvement, Potter is aware a win against the reigning premiers could act as a barometer for his side’s run towards the end of the season.
“A win would certainly help set up our second half of the season,” he said.
“We need to focus on shutting down their key players and be more accountable – something we didn’t do enough of first time around.”
Heyfield v Rosedale
Heyfield and Rosedale will headline the match of the round with both sides entering the match on the back of five-game winning streaks.
Convincingly outplayed from the opening bounce in their round one encounter, Heyfield is a different prospect with Blues’ coach Damien Birss aware of the threat posed by the Kangaroos.
“We were in no doubt that Heyfield would turn their form around, as the years progressed they have certainly shown improvement,” Birss said.
“It is certainly going to be a big game; this is the start of a tough five weeks which sees us draw the top five.
“We’re keen to play the competitions top four teams early as it will give us an indication as to how we are going, have we just done enough to hold our own in matches or if we have improved.”
A four-time premiership player with the Kangaroos, Birss is fully aware of the various aspects of Heyfield’s game but is not keen to give too much away.
“We need to focus on aspects of our game, like making sure that we are strong at the footy, focus on delivering the ball into our forwards well while our backline needs to be on their game,” he said.
Boisdale/Briagolong v Gormandale
Sitting at the tail end of the ladder, Boisdale/Briagolong has recorded two wins to date and will be confident it can win again against Gormandale.
Churchill v Cowwarr
Hosting its second home game in as many weeks, Churchill will need to play into some solid form if it is to play finals.
Losing to Cowwarr in round one by just five points, the Cougars will have their work cut out for them.
The Saints are in a similar position to Churchill, with only four wins for the season.
It is a tough ask to come back from here, but as the opening half of the season has shown, anything can happen.
TTU v Woodside
Making a late charge on the scoreboard last Saturday, TTU will be eager to pull together a full four quarter effort against Woodside.
Sitting fourth on the ladder, the Bombers find themselves in a similar position to last season and would remember the pain of missing out on the finals.
With nine rounds to go, the Bombers cannot let Woodside get the better of them.
