by Nicholas Duck

It's round four of the West Gippsland Football Competition this week and as the ladder starts to take shape some sides will be looking to keep their good form rolling for as long as they can while others will be out for redemption. Here's how this week's matches are looking:
Saturday, April 30
Warragul Industrials vs Korumburra-Bena
Time: 2pm
Location: Western Park
A world of opportunity awaits the Dusties this week, who have found themselves on the wrong side of the ledger for the past couple of weeks.
After a somewhat competitive showing against a mighty Phillip Island side gave some cause for optimism, a poor 72-point ANZAC Day loss to Tooradin-Dalmore will have the Dusties seeking redemption.
And their chances for said redemption won't be much better than this week when they meet the winless Korumburra-Bena at home.
It's been an extremely poor start to the season for the Giants, who last week failed to defeat a Dalyston side they would have fancied their chances against.
The Giants' struggles have come due to a lack of consistently strong performers, as while they have been getting solid games out of their top players like Darcy Hargrave and Paul Fermanis, the rest of the team has had the tendency to go missing for periods of time.
The Dusties, whose last win was a thumping victory over Garfield in round one, will be confident of getting on top of their younger opponents early, and if they want to make an impression this season this is simply a game they have to win.
Garfield vs Phillip Island
Time: 2pm
Location: Garfield Recreation Reserve
If Cora Lynn's start to the season hasn't been ideal, then Garfield's has been nothing short of shocking.
The Stars, who have featured a very different looking squad to the one featured last season, just haven't been able to get things to click in the initial stages of the season as they find themselves winless and stuck on the bottom of the table.
The biggest problem facing the side at the moment is their scoring, as in the three matches they've played so far they've scored three, nine and four goals respectively.
Those sorts of numbers will make thins difficult for any side to win, much less when they have to face a side like Phillip Island.
It almost feels like Phillip Island have been flying under the radar this season, as the reigning premiers have gone about their business, winning games without setting the world on fire like some of the other premiership contenders have.
Still, it's very well known how good this side is, and on paper they look likely to rack up another win while Garfield continues to tinker with their team to work out what works best.
Kilcunda Bass vs Nar Nar Goon
Time: 2pm
Location: Bass Recreation Reserve
The Goon look the goods in 2022, and will be looking at their round four match-up keenly as a chance to score yet another win and continue their undefeated start to the season .
Nar Nar Goon's defence has been rock solid so far this season, having conceded no more than nine goals in any of their first three matches.
This spells trouble for Kilcunda Bass, whose scoring troubles have been well documented up until this point.
The Panthers have managed one win so far against Dalyston, but their other two matches have been extremely one-sided affairs against premiership contenders, and the club will be very keen to stop this pattern from continuing.
The home ground advantage may give some confidence to Kilcunda Bass, but as it stands this looks like a match between a team that won't be playing in finals against a team expecting to feature heavily towards the pointy end of the season.
Koo wee rup vs Bunyip
Time: 2pm
Location: Koo wee rup Recreation Reserve
A round one win for Koo wee rup has been quickly forgotten after two poor weeks that see the Demons on a slide coming into their round four match.
The Demons are currently in eighth place on the table but could find things quickly going backwards as their past two games have yielded a 49-point loss and a 69-point loss respectively.
The young squad has definitely shown some signs of improvement compared to previous years, but even so they won't be going into this week favourites against Bunyip.
Coming off an 80-point win against their local rivals in Garfield, the Bulldogs are full of confidence and raring to go as they look to push themselves further up the ladder.
The recruitment of reigning Garfield best and fairest Daniel Helmore has proven a shrewd one, as he starred last week against his old side.
Koo wee rup should provide some competition in this one, but Bunyip will be clear favourites for a good reason.
Cora Lynn vs Tooradin-Dalmore
Time: 2pm
Location: Cora Lynn Recreation Reserve
It hasn't been the ideal start for Cora Lynn, who likely would have been hoping for a better start to the season thus far.
Finding themselves with three losses from three games, the Cobras still have hopes of recapturing their best form, but will need to work very fast.
After a 121-point loss to Inverloch-Kongwak, it certainly won't be getting any easier against Tooradin-Dalmore, who to this point have not even broken a sweat.
Sitting undefeated on top of the ladder with an average winning margin of 81 points, the Seagulls are playing a complete team system at the moment, with their ANZAC Day win against Warragul Industrials showing just how deep their squad goes.
If Cora Lynn is to have any chance it will need full-forward Nathan Gardiner to fire after being held goalless in his return from injury last round, and putting a stop to the Seagulls' free-wheeling forward line is a must.
Dalyston vs Inverloch-Kongwak
Time: 2pm
Location: Dalyston Recreation Reserve
Fresh off their first win in a long time, Dalyston finds itself in unfamiliar territory, lodged in the top six of the competition.
Adding onto a good week for the Magpies, their participation in Wednesday's Carlton Draft saw them pick recently retired 407-game AFL legend Shaun Burgoyne, who will pull on the black and white for a game later in the season.
Unfortunately for Dalyston the news isn't all good this week, as they have to now prepare for a match against the undefeated Inverloch-Kongwak.
The Sea Eagles have been ruthless in their 3-0 start to the season, with their recent 121-point win against Cora Lynn featuring 14 individual goalkickers in an incredible team display that will give the Magpies some serious cause for concern.
Dalyston have been extremely competitive in all of their matches this season which has been a marked improvement on past seasons, but it should be noted none of the teams they've met seem to be on the level of the premiership calibre Sea Eagles.
Inverloch-Kongwak will go in deserved strong favourites, and it will take an almighty effort from Dalyston to stop them winning their fourth straight game.