MERRIVALE captain Josh Sobey says it will take more than just the Tigers’ back six to shut down Kolora-Noorat’s forwards on Saturday.
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The league’s best defence, led by Matthew Gleeson who plays his 250th game for Merrivale, will be pitted against its best attack in the Power, spearheaded by Tim Ryan, who has kicked 42 goals this season to date.
But it is work up the ground that can aid the Tigers’ cause as they tackle key big men Ryan and Sam Williams, and the Power’s array of smaller forwards.
“Our midfield is going to have to make sure the ball isn’t going in there too nicely and our pressure needs to be on,” Sobey said.
“I think both teams are probably looking forward to the challenge. We always love playing the best sides.
“Their forwards have been kicking a lot of goals … (but) our back six have been working well as a unit.
“We just need to be efficient with the ball and play to our strengths.”
The Tigers will lose some scoring firepower of their own, with Josh Keilar unavailable, but their leading goal-kicker Brad Kelly returns, alongside Scott Kelly and Jack Neave.
The Power have also made a couple of changes, with Martin Wynd returning from a finger injury, while Luke McConnell is also back after being unavailable last round.
Mick Tebble is out of the line-up and set to miss a couple more weeks after injuring his ankle early in Kolora-Noorat’s match against Nirranda.
Power coach Danny Finn said Wynd had been close to playing a fortnight ago and would be a valuable inclusion, as will promising youngster McConnell.
“He (McConnell) has been a really quality young player that adds a lot of pace and outside run,” Finn said.
The Power leader said he will send his resting ruckmen into attack to create more forward options and combinations, but predicted Saturday’s match will likely come down to a defence-versus-defence battle, with the teams ranked one and two in the league for fewest points against.
The Power is conceding just 52 points a game, while the Tigers have been even stingier, giving away just 46.
“It’ll be who’s most effective going forward (that wins),” Finn said.
“It’ll be a getting good opportunities through entries, which we’ve really improved on the last few weeks.
“I think they (Merrivale) have got a really good midfield group and we’ve got a developing one. It’ll be a defensive game through our midfield and back line.”
To win, Kolora-Noorat will need to overcome recent history against a side it has not beaten since 2013.