THE first place in the Wimmera league grand final will be on the line when Horsham Demons and Minyip-Murtoa face off on Sunday.
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While the Burras had the better of Horsham the first two times the teams played this season the result was convincingly flipped in the final round of the season.
Demons coach Louie Dalziel said what happened in the final round counted for very little.
“Minyip-Murtoa were the better side for most of the season and things just happened to fall our way at the end,” he said.
“You’d be kidding yourself if you didn’t think it was going to be a tough and physical encounter.
Horsham’s versatility and depth underpinned a strong season while continued improvement within the squad has allowed it to keep opponents guessing.
“I think I’ve still got a few more things up my sleeve,” Dalziel said.
“We looked at the lineup the other night and we think there is about 15 blokes in the team that could kick two or three goals.
“Any number of players could be thrown around in different positions but it can be like robbing Peter to pay Paul; our defence has been really solid this year and we still want to keep things as simple as possible.”
Joel Geue’s 57 goals have led the way in the league, but valuable contributions from Deek Roberts, Ryan Kemp and Josh Mibus have not gone unnoticed.
Tyler Blake and Simon Hobbs have been in good form all year while Ben Lakin was pivotal in round 16.
“I think it was just a strong team performance in that game,” Dalziel said.
Minyip-Murtoa coach Damian Cameron said his side was feeling good after its qualifying final win against the Warrack Eagles.
“This week is a great opportunity to go straight through to the grand final,” he said. “Horsham had lots of strong contributors last time we played, we need to put in a much better team effort than we did in that game. We had a fair few passengers in that game and the loss really hurt.
After losing the final two rounds of the season the Burras returned to form in the first week of finals but Cameron knows his side can lift again. “The win was a move in the right direction but we’ve gone over the film and we identified a few different areas that can certainly still improve,” he said. “Our tall forwards have been playing a big role for us in recent weeks and we need them to fire again.”
The side got through the game against the Eagles without any injuries and could potentially welcome back Warwick Stone and Luke Mulquiny.
“They are the most likely to put their hand up for selection,” Cameron said.
