It’ll take a special effort to knock off the undefeated Bullioh, but when his side is at its best, Federal coach Gerard Midson believes he has the weapons to do it.
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The Bulldogs have gone on a tear so far this season, ripping of seven straight wins at a whopping percentage of 360.
It’s roughly double that of second-placed Corryong, who toppled the heavily backed Bullioh in last year’s grand final.
Though the Bulldogs have the added motivation of missed opportunity driving them, Midson knows it all comes down to the pointy end of the season.
“We believe in our list, if we can get back to where we want to be, get a few little things right, we believe we can beat anyone,” he said.
“It won’t really matter what happens the first three times you play a team, that was probably shown in last year’s finals.
“Bullioh were favourites and Corryong beat them twice.
“No-one is unbeatable, but we do need for a lot of things to go right.”
Midson will have to move a few magnets around this weekend to compensate for a couple of injuries, notably midfielder Locky Davis.
Davis, who travels from Melbourne to play, suffered a cracked fibula in their one-point loss to Cudgewa before last weekend’s bye.
There’s a few other players feeling a bit sire at the halfway mark, but Midson believes he still has the talent to make do.
“We haven’t put a huge amount of thought into Bullioh yet, we’re more worried about getting our own stuff right,” he said.
“We did such a big pre-season, we’ve got the base there to play that running game.
“There are things we need to tweak, when to go, when no to go, some of our young guys are working on reading the play.
“Bullioh are really good with that, they get the ball out to their runners and get it forward quickly.
“If you can shut down guys like Zac Burhop and Hamish Clark, it’ll go a long way towards helping you out.”
Federal and Cudgewa are fighting over second spot on the ladder, but the Demons have a significant percentage advantage as it stands.
Corryong and Border-Walwa trail that pair with two wins apiece.
Tumbarumba have yest to register a victory, despite the Magpies a run for their money.
Border-Walwa take on Cudgewa and Tumbarumba face Corryong.