By David Nagel
Who wins this week’s first semi-final between Inverloch-Kongwak and Nar Nar Goon at Cora Lynn? Let’s take a look and find out.
FIRST SEMI-FINAL
NAR NAR GOON (3) V INVERLOCH-KONGWAK (4)
Sunday at Cora Lynn
MEETINGS IN 2024
Inverloch-Kongwak 11.7(73) def Nar Nar Goon 7.14(56)
KEY PLAYERS
NAR NAR GOON
Trent Armour
Phillip Island coach Cam Pedersen is a tough task-master, so when he says the Nar Nar Goon skipper is the equal best midfielder in the competition – alongside his own Hayden Bruce – then you have to sit up and take notice.
Armour has the unique combination of being as hard as a cat’s head, but also as nimble and athletic as the cat itself.
He hits the contest hard and rarely loses his feet, and is the most reliable and consistent player in the competition.
He has been named in the Goon’s best on 17 of 18 occasions this year; eight times being named best and seven times the second-best player on the ground.
The only time he hasn’t polled votes this season was against Bunyip in round two, when the Goon thumped the Bulldogs by 259 points.
That’s not the sort of game that gets Armour’s juices flowing; he would much prefer to shine in the cut and thrust of finals football…the stage he will enter on the weekend.
INVERLOCH-KONGWAK
Andrew Soumilas
One of the most decorated players in the all-time history of WGFNC football, Soumilas showed his class in a nail-biting victory over Tooradin-Dalmore last week.
The bigger the game the more the nuggety midfielder feels comfortable, burrowing in at the bottom of packs to make the Sea Eagles runners look good.
Soumilas has a football IQ that not many can match, and his creativity around the stoppages is going to be crucial if the Sea Eagles are to overcome a slick and free-flowing Nar Nar Goon unit.
The ruck contest will be crucial this week, but Soumilas’s ability to read his own big man, but also the trends at centre bounce, give the Sea Eagles the edge in this department.
Super-hard at it at the stoppages, expect the crafty superstar to be right in amongst the action in a super-hot first 10 minutes of play.
The Sea Eagles have more athletic and damaging players on the outside, but you can bet they’ll all be relying on Soumilas to provide the feed they need.
A genuine match-winner who can kill via a thousand cuts!
OUR TIP
We’re getting right down to the nitty gritty now, just four teams remaining, with the reigning champions coming up against a team that basically won’t settle for anything less than making this year’s grand final.
It’s a high benchmark that both the Sea Eagles and Goon have set, and it just adds to the appeal of what might transpire on Sunday.
The Sea Eagles are a team full of mighty warriors, with Lewis Rankin, Dylan Clark, Tom Hams, Andy Soumilas and Michael Eales all seasoned performers who know what it takes to win on the big stage.
Rankin has been the architect of the Sea Eagles back-six for many a year, while Clark has the height and athleticism to trouble any opponent in any position on the ground.
And Eales, well either he or Xavier Hughes will get the big job on Dermott Yawney if the star forward does return form a heavy knock he took against Phillip Island in round 18.
The Goon missed Yawney last week, but the star quality of Matt Gentile, Jarrod Smith, Harrison Brain and James Cairns got them over the line against Kilcunda-Bass, while Trent Armour just did the things that Trent Armour often does.
The thing that stood out was his composure in a crisis, with his ability to hit targets under immense pressure setting him apart from the pack.
The Sea Eagles won’t want a high-tempo game here; they’ll more look to subdue the Goon’s runners and turn it into a dog-fight.
But it’s curtains for the Sea Eagles on Sunday…with the Goon to progress via a 17-point victory
