North Gippsland FNL split Round 15, Week 1 preview

Woodside will hit the road to Churchill on Saturday to take on the Wildcats in a sixth-versus-third showdown.

The Cougars head into the game following a win over Rosedale while the Wildcats will look to recover after a disappointing finish against Sale City.

The last time these two teams played was in round six when Churchill won by 76 points.

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After putting on a performance at the weekend to secure their first win, Cowwarr will return home to host Sale City in a game which is likely to go the way of the Bulldogs.

The Saints experienced a disappointing start to the season but managed to climb their way off the bottom of the ladder on Saturday with an 80-point win over ninth-placed Glengarry.

It will be a tough ask for the Saints in the first week of the split round, however, considering Sale City’s strong on-field performance and the Bulldogs win over Woodside at the weekend.

Cowwarr coach Brett McMaster spoke about the need to be competitive, particularly given his side lost to the Bulldogs in round six by 120 points.

“They really put us away last time and we don’t want a repeat of that. We want to be more competitive, so that’s in our mind more than the win,” Mr McMaster said.

“We were full strength on Saturday but it just changes week to week – we’ve got a few in and out with work and those sorts of things but we’re hoping to be fairly close to full strength again.

“A number of [Sale City’s] better players did a lot of damage so obviously we’re going to limit their influence but it’s just the ability to be a bit more competitive. We didn’t put a huge amount of pressure

on them and let them have the game on their terms.”

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Glengarry can only hope they bring their best game to the park this weekend when they travel to Yarram to take on the Demons.

The Magpies lost to Cowwarr at the weekend and now sit bottom of the ladder – a position they will likely hold for the rest of the season.

It is a different story for the Demons, however, who sit undefeated atop the North Gippsland senior ladder.

Yarram president Anthony Rodaughan said the game would raise money for Beyond Blue with players taking to the field wearing blue jumpers.

“We’ve lost three or four key members of the club to depression and it’s important for us as a club to recognise that,” Mr Rodaughan said.

Former North Melbourne and Sydney star Wayne Schwass will speak during an event at the ground.

Demons coach Matt Scholz could return to the side along with Jake Anderson.

Latrobe Valley Express