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AFTER four wins in a row, Edenhope-Apsley and its coach Chris Oliver will know more about the side’s premiership chances when it faces Jeparit-Rainbow at Apsley on Saturday.
The side has been the surprise packet of the Horsham District season so far. The Saints lost their first two games but since then have hardly put a foot wrong.
Oliver said there was plenty of excitement around the group for Saturday’s clash.
“We have been improving each week and this week will really show where we are at in the competition,” he said.
“We have a couple of ins after the break and we are really looking forward to it.”
After a week off and in solid form Oliver said it was the perfect time to take on the league’s top side.
“It definitely is perfect timing to take on the top team,” he said.
“We had four players play interleague, which was good for the club, but everyone else has had a good spell.
“Bernie Kealy and Damian Monaghan are still out but Taylor Milner and Sam McClure will be coming in.
“We want to get our match-ups right and have been talking to a few guys about what we have in mind. We will see how it goes on the day and a lot will depend on conditions.”
Oliver said he was expecting a physical contest from the undefeated Jeparit-Rainbow team.
“They are a very physical side and they moved the ball really well last year so we are expecting them to be top class,” he said.
We want to throw everything we have at them and really make a statement to the league that we are a contender.
- Chris Oliver
“This is the step up for us and we want to know where we are at. We want to throw everything we have at them and really make a statement to the league that we are a contender.”
Storm coach Tim Inkster said his side had been beating lower level opponents and had to improve to defeat the Saints away from home.
“We will start to play some sides who are around the mark now and we have a couple of week window to find out how we are travelling,” he said.
“The Saints were sort of written off at the start of the year and now they’ve had some good wins and especially at Apsley they will be hard to beat.
“Now it’s about seeing how we go against sides who are around us. Once that is done then we will look at what we are lacking. We have been getting better each week with more fitness and time together.
“In terms of game style we will know more about what we need to change closer to finals.”
Inkster said his side was still missing about eight players.
“The injury list hasn’t improved too much, we will get two back and one out at this stage,” he said.