Football
9 June, 2024
Three clear premiership contenders
At the halfway stage of the Wimmera Football Netball League season, the battle for the premiership looks set to be contested by three standout teams.
Ararat, Stawell and Southern Mallee Thunder are well ahead of the pack, with Stawell being the surprise packet this season.
The Rats are currently sitting on top of the ladder on six wins with the Warriors. Up until two weeks ago, the Warriors were undefeated with Horsham handing them their first defeat.
The Thunder has lost to Ararat, and their match against the Warriors after the bye will give us a bigger picture of how the top three look. The Thunder has had three triple-figure margin wins this season.
Sitting in fourth place are the other surprise packets of the season in Horsham. They are an improved team this year with Jordy Burke returning as coach, and whilst they won't be considered premiership favourites, they are a team that can be damaging, not only towards the end of the season but in finals should they make it.
In fifth, on three wins with Horsham is Minyip Murtoa. The Burras have a long injury list and if they can start to get their players back, they can push for a finals berth.
Nhill, Horsham Saints and Dimboola are all on the next rung on the ladder with two wins apiece.
All three teams are still in contention for finals. The Saints have a long injury list and if they can start to get their players back and stay in touch of the five, they are a team that could get a run on.
There is only one team that can't play finals and that is the Warrack Eagles. They are improving each week and will be eyeing a couple of wins in the second half of the final to build for next year.
On the goal-kicking table, the leading goal-kicker is wide open. Ararat's Tom Williamson leads the charge with 25 goals, three ahead of Stawell's Cody Driscoll and Dimboola's Jackson Calder.
Southern Mallee Thunder's Bradley Lowe and Minyip Murtoa's Oscar Gawith are consistent and are sitting on 19 and 18 goals in fourth and fifth spot respectively and are in with a shot.
The Toohey Medal for the league's best and fairest is hard to call at this stage of the season.
Leading the charge for Ararat will be co-coach Tom Williamson. He polls well and he is having an outstanding season. Last year's winner Jake Robinson is also having a brilliant, consistent season and is well in contention again.
Dimboola's Andrew Moore and Dylan Landt have been outstanding this year. Landt is coming off an unbelievable 54-disposal game against Ararat last week and performances like that will catch the umpire's eye.
Dimboola will be expecting to win more games in the second half of the year and these two will be leading the way for them if that is to happen.
Horsham's Brody Pope is their leading contender with Hugo Papst and Ryan Kemp hot on his tails. Kemp stands out being able to do damage on the scoreboard, kicking 17 goals for the season.
Horsham Saints' Angus Martin will be leading their charge with Mitch Martin also playing well recently.
Minyip Murtoa's midfielders, Kade Petering and Ben McIntyre are having great seasons with Petering the standout. Petering has had some eye-catching moments.
For Nhill, Jake McQueen will be leading their charge. His ability to play anywhere and hit the scoreboard and flashy play will be at the forefront of the umpire's minds.
The Southern Mallee Thunder have a lot of spread across the ground, so it's hard to see one of their players winning due to that fact. Leading the charge for them would be Coleman Schache and watch out for Liam Nelson in the back half of the season.
For Stawell, last year's joint winner Tom Eckel is also having a standout season and is consistently one of the best on the ground in every game he plays.
The dark horse is Marlon Motlop. Even though he has only played three games, he is flashy and has been their best the last two weeks and with Stawell being a top team, watch for him to come home with a wet sail.
For the Eagles, whilst they won't have anyone in contention, Riley Morrow and Machok Garang, particularly the latter being flashy, will be catching the umpire's eyes and are having a terrific season down back and more recently in the ruck.