By Jonty Ralphsmith
Doveton will be looking to bounce back from this week’s loss against East Brighton when it takes on Murrumbeena, which it beat a week earlier in the qualifying final.
The Lions are coming off a 43-point win over Highett, with both teams regaining personnel from that clash.
Classy versatile Dove Will Smith showed some positive signs in his first game back since 29 July, while hard-mid Aaron Johns was a late exclusion against the Lions last week.
Beena forward Steve Tolongs kicked two goals in the win over Highett on Sunday – his first game since July.
The return of Daniel Zajac this week, who missed the elimination final, will be an important inclusion inside 50, while James Gascard will hope to continue to create scoring chances.
The involvement of outside runners Mitch Pierce and Dylan Bowman will be an intriguing watch to complement the crash-and-bash midfielders whose pressure two weeks ago against Murrumbeena was immense.
Having been shown up on the spread against East Brighton, the players they choose to run through the engine room is worth keeping an eye on, with Ricky Johnson and Michael Henry players who can provide zest.
“As soon as the siren went, we went into the rooms and had a chat and said that game has now passed,” coach Michael Cardamone revealed of the wash-up of the loss to the Vampires.
“’Hopefully in seven days, we can reflect on this but from 5.00, let’s focus on the team we’re going to play’, so we all got there yesterday and had a watch of that game and Murrumbeena is classy.
“We’ll reassess the game we played against them a fortnight ago and the way they tackled things.
“They’re a really good side; they’re well coached, really fit, take the game on and have some really good key forwards in (Daniel) Willis and Tolongs back so it’ll be a great contest.”
