THE ingredients are all there for a spectacular Ovens and King showdown when Milawa hosts Glenrowan on Sunday.
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It’s ANZAC Day, both teams are unbeaten after two rounds, and to cap things off, it’s the grand final rematch.
The Demons are out for revenge after last year’s premiership loss, with coach Luke O’Keefe saying his team had made the necessary changes to get one back on their Kelly Tiger rivals.
“I think a lot will come down to who is able to get on top in the ruck, Glenrowan have got some real talent in the middle of the ground with guys like Karl Norman, so making sure we get first use will be really important,” he said.
The mountainous duo of Jack Hill and Brent Newton were likely to spend almost the entire match rotating through the ruck and the forward line in a bid to stretch the Kelly Tigers’ backline and trap the ball in the Demons’ forward 50.
“Guys like Matthew Robinson and Matthew Duffy were really damaging forwards in the grand final, so we’ll bear the old cliche in mind and try and limit the amount of ball they get in the forward half,” O’Keefe said.
“We’ve got to concentrate on getting those match-ups right.
“I think both sides view their midfield as their key strength, so winning those ruck taps will be huge.
“That’s where Hill and Newton will come into play.”
This match marks the start of a tough run for Milawa, who will next face Moyhu, Bright and Tarrawingee in consecutive weeks.
O’Keefe said his team was up for the challenge.
“It’ll be a pretty interesting run, we’ll have a pretty good idea of where we’re at by the end of it,” he said.
“But we’ve got to concentrate on the Tigers game before we get too far ahead of ourselves.”