ON paper it all stacks up against the Cootamundra Bulldogs, but one gets the feeling that’s exactly how they like it.
Having snuck into this year’s Group Nine semi finals with a courageous seven-point win over Lavington last Sunday, the Bulldogs face a tough assignment if they hope to extend their season beyond this weekend.
In one of two elimination semi finals, the Bulldogs are drawn to play the Junee Diesels on Sunday and, to be perfectly
honest, few people outside of Coota give the Dogs much hope of causing and upset.
The Diesels finished third, the Bulldogs sixth.
The Diesels had five players named in an unofficial Team of the Year earlier this week, the Bulldogs two.
The match will be played in front of what is sure to be a parochial crowd at Junee’s home ground Willow Park.
It is the same venue the Diesels downed the Dogs 32-20 four weeks ago.
The Bulldogs had to work until the 78th minute before securing victory last
weekend, the Diesels had a much easier time wracking up an even 50 points as they demolished Temora in a performance
that only enhanced their premiership
credentials.
It’s a compelling case for the Diesels, however don’t expect it to worry the men in blue and white.
“We’re happy for them to have all the pressure on them,” Bulldogs halfback Joel Pettit said.
“They’ll be playing at home and have all the expectations.”
Having met the Diesels recently Pettit expects Mark Elia’s men to adopt similar tactics on Sunday.
“Their kicking game was excellent and most of their attack revolved around (Nathan) McGowan.
“If we can shut him down I think we
control them, but in saying that, we can’t afford to place too much emphasis on one player.
“Our own kicking game on Sunday was probably the best it’s been all year, so both sides will be looking to make use of it and force the other to work off their own line.
Last week’s victory was exhausting, with both sides almost out on their feet towards the end, however Pettit believes that will become a positive come Sunday.
“It will toughen us up in terms of match fitness, while they (Junee) probably didn’t have to work as hard.”
If there was one area of concern for the Bulldogs last weekend, it was the amount of second phase play the Panthers were able to create.
“They probably caught us off guard a bit with how much they wanted to throw it around and we were guilty of not wrapping up the ball,” Pettit said.
“Junee have plenty of players who look for offloads, so we’ll have to maintain our focus until the ball carrier has been brought down.”
Pettit has predicted a big game from
fullback Grant Miller who, having been hampered by injuries all year, was back near his best on Sunday.
“Funky’s a great player and we all feed off the work he does,” Pettit said.
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