MANGOPLAH-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes will be out to buck a recent trend when they travel to Ganmain Sportsground on Saturday.
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Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong have traditionally been a tough team to beat on their home turf and no one knows that better than the Goannas.
Only once in MCUE’s history have they come away from Ganmain Sportsground with the four points, courtesy of a three-goal win back in 2014.
MCUE co-coach Travis Cohalan is well aware of the history and said the fact is a credit to their opposition.
“It hasn’t been a happy hunting ground,” Cohalan said.
It hasn't been a happy hunting ground
- MCUE co-coach Travis Cohalan
”I think it’s more of a reflection on how strong of a club Ganmain has been over the last 10 or 15 years. When they won those four (premierships) in a row, they were virtually unbeatable. So a lot of those games they were right at the top and we were building our way through.”
MCUE have added key forward Matt Collins and midfielder Pat Killalea to their extended squad in the hope they will both be right to return from injury.
Theo Metcalfe (hamstring) and Connor Huthwaite (ankle) are both in doubt after not being able to finish the game in last week’s win over Collingullie-Glenfield Park.
“It’s going to be an interesting selection and if everyone comes up then it’s going to be a good problem and we will have some big decisions to make.”
GGGM will wait until after training on Friday night to make a decision on their injured players but midfielders Nathan McPherson and Luke Walsh are all but certain inclusions.
The Lions are leaning towards taking a cautious approach with Curtis Steele and Jordan Bates as they recover from injured hamstrings.
Teenage forward Riley Corbett will miss the clash due to state duties.
Cohalan knows what another win over the Lions this year would do for the Goannas’ season.
“It’s definitely a pretty important game, for a number of reasons,” he said.
“Ganmain at Ganmain is always one of the toughest games of the year and it’s also a good challenge for our young group to see how they respond against another fellow top five side.
“It will be good to see if we consistently match it with these top five teams.”
Cohalan pointed out the Goannas will need to bring their best pressure, effort and work rate if they are to claim another victory.
