North Gippsland Football Netball League minor premier Sale City’s sights are firmly set on securing the first spot in this year’s grand final when it meets Heyfield in Saturday’s second semi-final.
Star utilities Justin McLay and Jacob Schuback, midfielder Brad McKay, backmen Mitch Evans and Brad Parsons and small forward Rowan Bell are all on track to return for the clash at Gordon Street Recreation Reserve.
“It’s good to have the opportunity to play finals footy and I would be very disappointed if we don’t turn up to play this weekend,” Sale City coach David Piasente said.
“This is why we put our bodies on the line all year and we don’t want to finish on top then go out and get beaten.
“We’ve set a strong culture of hard work and reward for that work so we’re looking forward to it.”
After winning 17 of their 18 home-and-away games, the Bulldogs go into the game full of confidence and refreshed following last week’s rest.
“We don’t care where it is or what type of day it is we’ll just turn up and play,” he said.
“It was good to have the week off and we covered a lot of ground at training.
“We trained on Saturday and worked through our structures and zones and went over our game plan.”
The qualifying final win was built on the back of clean hands, composed ball use and disciplined defending.
“The balance of our side is really good at the moment,” Stubbe said.
“We’ve got those couple of tall guys that can take a good overhead mark and really strong pack marks and that’s really important for us, especially when we get stuck.
“We can afford to go down the line because we’ve got that option and know they are at least going to put up a contest and bring the ball to
“That versatility we’ve got to be able to throw guys forward or into the midfield or back and three or four that can go through the ruck is so
With
Second semi-finals
Saturday, 27 August – Gordon St Recreation Reserve, Heyfield
Seniors – Sale City v Heyfield
Reserves – Heyfield v Sale City
Thirds – Yarram v Sale City
A grade – Woodside v Heyfield
B grade – Glengarry v Heyfield
C grade – Rosedale v Sale City
D grade – Sale City v Heyfield
17 and under – Sale City v Traralgon-Tyers United
15 and under – Heyfield v Traralgon-Tyers United
First semi-final
Fresh from its maiden North Gippsland Football Netball League finals victory, Yarram has set its sights on another historic scalp when it lines up in Sunday’s first semi-final at Glengarry.
The Demons are yet to beat Churchill in six attempts since joining the competition in 2014 and coach Chris Pettitt said his side was ready for that to change.
“If there was ever a time to beat them a final would be beautiful,” Pettitt said.
“We drew with them last time so at least we haven’t lost to them every time now and that’s a stepping stone.”
Pettitt was at Yarram last Saturday to see the Cougars soundly beaten by
“They definitely don’t play the same game against
“They’re a running side and they had a couple out that they’ll bring back in so they’ll be a different side again.”
Last weekend’s elimination final was a draining contest, with few stoppages resulting in a high-tempo game.
The rivalry with Woodside ensured it wasn’t short on physical clashes either, but Pettitt was confident in his players’ ability to be ready for Churchill.
“We play this style of footy every week and these guys are getting pretty good at looking after themselves,” Pettitt said.
“They’re always going to be sore when we’ve played well and played the way we want to play but they’re getting better at recovering from it as well.
“At least we get a seven-day break from this one… Churchill
Mike Pettitt, Jari McDonald and Michael Lush will come into contention should Yarram look to make any changes.
Churchill will need to get more out of its talented forward line, which struggled to generate scoring opportunities against an organised and at times crowded Heyfield defence last weekend.
Cougars coach Allan Chandler admitted his side was second best in just about every area against the Roos and would need to regroup quickly to avoid being bundled out of the premiership race in straight sets.
“They’re a pretty proud group so I would expect them to bounce back,” Chandler said.
“We had a bit of trouble with (Heyfield’s) big blokes, they kicked a few goals and they were all over us from almost the get go and we weren’t able to get going.
“We’ll have Travis Brighton and Dean Degroot back to toughen us up and
“When you’ve got the double chance you get to probably not roll the dice (but) we don’t get that choice (this week) so they’ll be right.”
First semi-finals
Sunday, 28 August – Glengarry Recreation Reserve
Seniors – Churchill v Yarram
Reserves – Cowwarr v Traralgon-Tyers United
Thirds – Glengarry v Rosedale
A grade – Rosedale v Churchill
B grade -Sale City v Rosedale
C grade – Woodside v Yarram
D grade – Rosedale v Glengarry
17 and under – Churchill v Rosedale
15 and under – Sale City v Yarram
