Bats and Bright battle for survival

THEY’VE both emerged from battle in their first challenge in finals and now they’re up against each other – Bright and the Bats come head-to-head this Sunday. Spectators saw both teams in action last weekend, fighting to retain their spot in the flag race, and each side showed their trademark qualities. Bright weathered an early challenge from King Valley before kicking away with class and precision, while Goorambat proved their recent form was no fluke with exciting ball movement and grit in their win over Milawa. Despite accumulating some injuries in their 64-point elimination final win last weekend, Goorambat coach Ben Wapling said his side had what it takes to continue to win. “We lost James Webster in probably the last minute of the game with a broken foot, that’s really disappointing, must’ve clashed legs so he had to go to hospital, he’s out for the season,” he said. “Victor (Butler), he was probably best on ground the last time we played Milawa and probably one of our best players too, he re-did his hamstring. “There are no excuses, it’s been like that all year – we haven’t had a full side, even in round one we had three players out, so it’s been consistent all year. “I thought there were going to be times where I was really going to have to be making some harsh changes to the side, but each week we’ve had players out, injuries and players coming back in. “I wouldn’t say the depth is exactly where we want it, but there’s certainly no excuse going in with the side this weekend.” The Bats will enter the clash as the underdogs, as they did against Milawa last weekend, but Wapling said a consistent performance would see them emerge triumphant. “If we can put four quarters together like we finally have been doing three out of the last four games, then we see ourselves as being very competitive on the day, with our pressure and accountability,” he said. “Everyone’s got their opponent, and they’ve got to beat them, you’ve got to be accountable for them. “We achieved our goal of getting there, we achieved our next goal of winning one, so we’re just taking each week as it comes. “We’ll go out and give it our best and see what happens.” Bright coach Paul Harrison was impressed with Goorambat’s performance last weekend, and said it would be a tough challenge to take the win. “What they do really well is their work rate, their work rate is really high - they get the ball, they kick it long and they get that frontal pressure on the ball and it worked really well for them,” he said. “I thought they had some quality guys up forward, Rhys Goodley and (Duane) Haebich were good for them on the weekend. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us. “I think the key for us winning the game is just controlling the footy. “I think if we’re able to set up well behind the footy, able to intercept mark then control the footy moving forward, it takes that pressure and their work rate out of the game a little bit more.” Bright and Goorambat take to the field in their semi-final showdown this Sunday at Tarrawingee from 2pm, after the reserve bout between Bright and Moyhu.

Bats and Bright battle for survival

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