For Mooroopna, it boasts a potent attacking duo consisting of the league’s two leading goal-kickers. For Echuca, it has a stingy, watertight defence that has excelled at restricting key forwards all season.
Something has got to give.
Mooroopna possesses the best forward line pairing in the competition – Jackson Trengove and Chris Nield.
Trengove is the leading goal-kicker this season with 26 majors, while Nield is close behind in second place with 23.
The two have been prolific in front of the big sticks this season – Trengove has a 10-goal game against Rochester under his belt and had a six-goal haul against Mansfield last round, while Nield booted seven against Benalla and six against Shepparton United earlier this season.
Nield and Trengove have been on the score sheet in every game this season and they have combined for at least three goals between them every time they have been on the field together in 2023.
Cats coach John Lamont said Nield and Trengove were clearly an important asset to have.
“Without a doubt. They are going to be very important,” Lamont said.
“We have to make sure that we are not too one dimensional with them, which I don’t feel we have been. I think we have had a good chemistry and synergy.
“There is no escaping that they are one and two in the league at the minute, so they will have an important impact.
“If they kick nine or 10 between them, we are in a hell of a position to win. If they kick two or three, we probably aren’t going to.”
Goal machine: Jackson Trengove is the Goulburn Valley League’s leading goal-kicker in 2023 with 26 majors.
Photo by
Aydin Payne
On the flip side, while Echuca’s defence is yet to face an attacking duo quite like this, it has certainly shown it is up to the task.
The Murray Bombers have conceded the fewest points in the league this season, and only once this year – Rochester’s Sean Williams with four – has a single player kicked more than two goals against them.
Echuca co-coach Sam Reid said he was confident the Murray Bombers had the personnel to limit Mooroopna’s key forwards.
“I think Trengove kicked six last week, we’ll put some time into him,” Reid said.
“Val (Cam Valentine) is going pretty well, he’s up and about and so is Curt Townrow, we’ll back those two in and our backline to get the job done. Hopefully we can hold them to little influence.”
Mooroopna was the only team to defeat Echuca in 2022, with the Cats earning a memorable six-point victory that clinched them a finals berth in round 18 last year.
And who were two of the key players that day?
Nield (six goals) and Trengove (three goals), who had nine majors between them.
Lamont said the Cats would be hoping to replicate certain elements from that performance and their 58-point victory over Mansfield last weekend again on Saturday.
“The number one thing is you have got to bring really good effort,” the Mooroopna coach said.
“I felt we have done that for the majority of both times when we played them last year.
“We want to start well, make sure we are in the game and get a bit of control of the footy, which we did against Mansfield.
“That will be off the back of really good effort and making sure that we keep Echuca under pressure.
“Euroa was in a position to win that game, so there is a little bit of formula there to beat Echuca.”
With the Cats standing as the last team to have prevailed against them, Reid said the Murray Bombers would be hungry to earn four points this time around.
“They were our only loss last year, so we’ll be looking to make amends there on our home deck,” Reid said.
“We’re looking forward to it, they had a really good win against Mansfield.
“They took us on through the midfield last time and they have a couple of handy players.
“I think they’re up and about and obviously think they’ve got the wood over us because of that loss. We’ll be going out to make amends, no doubt about that.”
Echuca is set to be bolstered by the return of Hugh Byrne, Angus Byrne and Jack Evans. Mooroopna meanwhile will be without gun midfielder Nathan Drummond after a hamstring injury.