LAHARUM will look to continue its stunning early season form against a skilled Edenhope-Apsley side in round 11 of the Horsham District Football Netball League on Saturday. Laharum is in the hotly-contested number two spot on the league ladder while the Saints are fighting to remain in the top five, and sit fourth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Mountain Men will be missing star Robert Miller after he broke his leg in the round 10 clash against the Bombers. The injury is expected to sideline Miller for the bulk of the remainder of the season.
Laharum coach Shannon Argall said missing Miller would damage his side.
“Robbie is certainly a big loss and Edenhope-Apsley might consider their chances improved but we’ll look to bring in some other guys to fill out our midfield,” he said.
Hamish Roberts is set to return for Laharum and Jack Mentha will play his first game for the side, adding strength to the team.
“We’re looking forward to contesting a potential finals side. We’ll be testing ourselves and I’m sure they’ll be doing the same,” Argall said.
“It’ll be good to see where we’re at. We’re looking to consolidate on our efforts.
“We train hard and we train our structures religiously so we have confidence in those and we are certainly a confident team.”
Argall said his side had been working hard on skills and negating Edenhope-Apsley’s style of play.
“We’ve got good key position players but our strength is the full 21 players that play each week,” he said.
“We pride ourselves on being well drilled and having all players contribute.”
Saints coach Michael Rowe said his side was looking forward to the challenge.
“We’d like to think we can be competitive. This is the benchmark of the competition for us but we know it won’t be an easy task,” he said.
Rowe said the Saints had been working on structural play at training this week.
“We are focusing on structures and set plays, the way we move and ball and how we want to move it,” he said.
Rowe will be missing Samuel McClure and Josh Crissold from his side on Saturday.
“They’re two important players. Samuel has enormous leg speed and carries the ball well for us,” he said.
“We are yet to play Laharum but we know they’re very strong and have had a very good last couple of years.
“They’re well drilled and very well structured but we’re looking forward to the game.”
James Rowe made a terrific comeback for the side last week, playing his first game for the Saints since round one and kicking four goals.
Rowe, alongside Jak Ryan and Bernard Kealy, is expected to be one of the standout players for the Saints on Saturday. Laharum will look to its stars in Riley Cross, Todd Heynen and Elliot Braithwaite.