Churchill will be out to remind Sale City that this year’s North Gippsland Football Netball League premiership race is far from run, when the sides do battle at Gaskin Park on Saturday.
The Bulldogs have been the clear standouts of the season so far, recording 11 straight wins, including a 66-point defeat of the second-placed Cougars in round three.
However, Bulldogs coach David Piasente was well aware of the threat posed by the Cougars.
“I’ve kept an eye on them the past month in particular and they’re very strong,” Piasente said.
“They got done on the weekend against Heyfield but I’m not looking too much into that, I rate them very highly.
“They play their ground fairly well, it’s bigger and they’re used to it, but as long as we make sure we have enough chances to score we’ll be in the game.”
Despite their dominance of the competition so far, Piasente was wary of complacency and said finding new ways to break teams down was the next step for his side.
“We will try a few things soon. We don’t want to flirt with danger, but we’ve got some guys we might try in different positions and look at the way we move the footy,” he said.
“A few sides have been pushing players back and making it hard for us to find options inside 50, so we need to find a few different ways to goal.”
Evan Johnson (head knock) and Bohdi Walker (hamstring) are likely to miss for the Dogs, opening the door for players that have been pressing their claim with good form in the reserves.
While top spot may not be up for grabs this week, the Cougars will be keen to show they can match it with the premiership frontrunner.
Last week’s loss to Heyfield was Churchill’s first defeat since the round three meeting with Sale City and the Cougars still boast plenty of firepower to test the undefeated ladder leader.
Elsewhere, Heyfield and Yarram will square off at Heyfield in an Indigenous respect fixture.
The clubs will don specially designed Indigenous outfits and there has been a special medal struck for the best on court and ground for each game of netball and football.
An official welcome to country and brief address will occur prior to the senior match, which could also prove crucial in the battle to secure finals football places.
In other round 12 games, Cowwarr hosts Rosedale, with the visitors in desperate need of a win to keep its hopes of a title defence alive, Gormandale travels to Woodside and TTU and Glengarry battle for a third win of the season.
