by Nicholas Duck
It's time for round eight of the West Gippsland Football Competition, and the highlight is a blockbuster match featuring two of the league's undefeated teams going head to head. Here's how the action is shaping up for each of the six games this week.
Saturday May 28
2pm start for all matches
Nar Nar Goon vs Phillip Island
Location: Nar Nar Goon Recreation Reserve
This match promises to be the match of the round as two of the competition's remaining three undefeated teams do battle to see just who deserves to be in the conversation for premiership favouritism.
Nar Nar Goon come into this game having just barely been able to maintain their perfect record, a final quarter blitz having been needed last week to see off the Warragul Industrials.
The Goon have clearly been an excellent team thus far in season 2022 but it could be argued that this will be their first real test, as Phillip Island will be the first team in the top four they have played.
Spearhead Dermott Yawney will need to be at the top of his game, as will the other Nar Nar Goon forwards, if they want to put up a score big enough to overcome the incredible firepower of the visiting team.
Phillip Island, for their part, have started the year exactly where they left off, defeating each and every team that's been placed in front of them.
That's not to say they're invincible, as they've faced significant challenges from teams like Cora Lynn and Inverloch-Kongwak, but as the best teams do they just seem to find another gear that their opponents can't match.
The Bulldogs, put simply, are a team boasting talent around the entire field, and aren't reliant upon one or two players to get them over the line.
Despite that, their individual players are still incredible to watch, and stars like reigning league best and fairest Cameron Pedersen will have a big say in who wins this game.
Expect this to be a good fight and for the result to tell us a lot about these two clubs, but don't be surprised if Phillip Island's class ultimately wins out.
Dalyston vs Warragul Industrials
Location: Dalyston Recreation Reserve
The Warragul Industrials will be out to regain their spot in the top five this week, meaning that Dalyston will have to be a little nervous as they find themselves in the Dusties' sights.
Warragul would be bitterly disappointed with how they finished their match last week against Nar Nar Goon, where the final quarter saw their two-goal advantage quickly disappear into a 22-point loss.
It was a missed opportunity, both to entrench themselves in the top five and to end the Goon's undefeated start to the season and send a warning shot to the rest of the competition.
As it stands, the top three spots on the ladder look out of reach for most of the league, meaning that wins will be vital for the sides hoping to take those last two spots.
This all spells trouble for Dalyston, who aren't even thinking about top five at the moment as they worry about their own issues.
It's been four weeks since the Magpies have looked to be really in any of their games, a 163-point loss to Phillip Island last week being their worst result yet.
As it stands, Dalyston just can't find ways to score, as despite the magnitude of last week's loss it was still the first time in four rounds they have been able to score more than two goals for a game.
This fact, combined with the Dusties' need to win this one, doesn't bode well for the home team.
Warragul should win this game and win it pretty well, and will likely reclaim fifth spot if they manage it.
Bunyip vs Tooradin-Dalmore
Location: Bunyip Recreation Reserve
After bouncing back in a big way last week, Bunyip will be up against it to make it two in a row as they face the ladder leaders at home.
The Bulldogs' win over Korumburra-Bena put them back into the top five by the slimmest of margins, and they'll need to keep putting wins on the board if they hope to keep their spot towards the top of the table.
It certainly won't be an easy task this week, as the undefeated Tooradin-Dalmore looms large this weekend.
The Seagulls are the kings of the competition at the moment, sitting undefeated on top of the table with a percentage of over 300.
Not only that, but they will be brimming with confidence having knocked off fellow premiership contender Inverloch-Kongwak last week.
Tooradin-Dalmore's strength lies in their deep forward line, where players like Stewart Scanlon, Blake Grewar and Brad Butler are all capable of kicking bags on their day.
This will present a significant challenge to the Bunyip backline, who in fairness have conceded over 100 points just once so far this season.
Still, Tooradin-Dalmore will look at this game as a great opportunity to make it eight straight, and the Bulldogs may just find themselves hard pressed to stop them.
Garfield vs Cora Lynn
Location: Garfield Recreation Reserve
It's been a season to forget for Garfield, who remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder as they continue to search for their first win of the season.
In fairness, the Stars have been handed one of the more brutal draws to open their season, having now already played many of the teams looking towards the pointy end of the year.
Still, they would have been hoping for a better showing last week against Koo wee rup than the 61-point drubbing they received.
Koo wee rup aren't a bad side, but given their ladder position relative to some of the other teams that have thumped Garfield it wasn't the game the Stars were hoping for, despite kicking more than four goals in a match for the first time since round two.
Still, they could take some lessons from their opponents this week, who just a couple of weeks ago found themselves in a similar position.
Cora Lynn's start to the season was nothing short of disastrous, and a far cry from the fearsome side the league once knew.
Their last two weeks, however, have seen the club show some signs of their best footy, and with games to come against Garfield, Dalyston and Koo wee rup the Cobras could find themselves at 5-5 after 10 matches, setting them up for a late finals push.
Still, they shouldn't be looking any further than this week, and should be looking for a big win to heap more misery on the poor Stars, who will need significant improvement to win this one.
Korumburra-Bena vs Koo wee rup
Location: Korumburra Showgrounds
Korumburra-Bena returns to their home ground looking for their second win of the season, while Koo wee rup tries to keep in touch with the top five.
The Giants, outside of their tight win over Garfield in round five, just haven't looked up to snuff with the rest of the competition for most of the year, their average losing margin currently being over 80 points.
Just in their last two weeks Korumburra-Bena have lost by a combined margin of 170 points.
In fairness, they've been hit by injury more than most other teams this year, but even when a side more closely resembling their best 22 was playing earlier in the year the results weren't much better.
Koo wee rup, meanwhile, are a much harder side to get a grip on.
In some weeks they've looked a competitive, if inexperienced, team capable of beating anyone. Just two weeks ago they pushed Phillip Island for three quarters, which is more than many other teams can claim.
In other games though, they've been extremely poor, looking like a side that should be at the bottom of the table.
Regardless, they come into round eight a game outside the top five, though the Demons' percentage is significantly low, being just a little over half than that of the Dusties who are just above them.
Last week's big win against Garfield did show the Demons can smash a team when they need to, and they should be expecting to do so again this week particularly if they want to improve that poor percentage.
Inverloch-Kongwak vs Kilcunda Bass
Location: Inverloch Recreation Reserve
After an extremely positive start to the year Inverloch-Kongwak's season has stalled just a little as they've won just one of their last three games.
Matches against Phillip Island and Tooradin-Dalmore have provided important tests for the Sea Eagles and have shown that while their best is good, it's not quite good enough as it stands.
Still, the Sea Eagles have made it a habit this year to demolish the competition's weaker sides, and Kilcunda Bass unfortunately falls into that category.
The Panthers appear to be a team bereft of both confidence and talent around the ground and will need to find some very quickly to make anything of their season.
Of their six losses this year just one has been under 50 points, indicating a team that struggles to stop their opponents from scoring and scoring quickly.
Scoring quickly is just what Inverloch-Kongwak does, and they should do so again in this game to keep the teams below them at bay.