THE Horsham Saints will attempt to shore up third-place on the ladder against a Warrack Eagles side it has not beaten in more than two years on Saturday.
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Saints coach Luke Fisher said a proved to be a long time in football.
“We’ve gone from having to win to stay in finals to now having to win to hold onto third position,” he said.
The two finals-bound sides are every chance to face off in a do-or-die match come September and will want to take as much confidence out of the encounter as possible.
Warrack Eagles coach Ryan McKenzie said his side would treat this match as if it was a final.
“What wins you finals is team effort so that’s what we’re looking for on,” he said.
McKenzie said that he was wary of the damage Jacob O’Beirne and Sam Japser could do on the outside while Sam Clyne and Fisher will be crucial to shut down on the inside.
“The Saints have got a pretty good side without having any major standouts,” he said.
“We think it will be a matter of playing team defence and allowing our players to go head-to-head.
“We want to try and open up the game because I think that will play to our advantage given the Saints are a fairly defensive side.”
McKenzie’s side has proven troubled the Saints over the past two seasons.
The Saints were knocked out of finals contention by the side in 2017 and have not registered a win against the Warrack Eagles since round 10 in 2016.
Fisher was aware of how difficult the side had been to beat in his two-year tenure.
“They’re the only club I haven’t beaten,” he said.
“I think they really thrive on a contested style of footy and they are happy to go one-on-one against us.”
He wanted his side to maintain the level of pressure it applied in round 16.
“I think we’re a bit better placed then we were when we played them last time, but we were coming off a good win coming into that game as well,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how the boys respond.”
Fisher said Nick Peters, Shannon Argall and McKenzie will likely lead the Warrack Eagles attack again.
“Those three players are in their best each week and I think they lift the rest of the side up,” he said.
“If we shut them out that will help us but they have a lot of other players that contribute in order to play their roles.”
Both coaches agreed the midfield battle will go a long way to deciding the contest.
“I think time in forward half and who uses the ball well going forward will determine the game,” Fisher said.
Will Kennedy will be unavailable for the Saints while Ben Martin and Alexander McRae will face fitness tests.
The Warrack Eagles lineup will likely look similar to the one that overcame Stawell.
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