by Rob Popplestone
Quickly becoming one of the "feel good" stories of season 2023, Thorpdale will host Toora on Saturday in round seven of Mid Gippsland footy.
Thorpdale v Toora
With only a handful of wins in the handful of seasons prior, the Blues had no real expectations this year to produce anything more than what they had.
However, after some close results against quality sides followed by three successive wins, the job of coach Jason Windelich might well be to keep a lid on the building excitement.
"Looking ahead to this week, we are still realistic as to where we sit amongst the league," Winderlich said. "Toora gave us a touch up last year, so our focus now is for a big week of recovery and training to keep developing our cohesion as a group."
In simple talk, they are going to be taking it one week at a time.
As prudent and expected as that is, a fourth win and even even a fifth win in a row would set up a most interesting clash with Newborough in a few weeks. But there I go again, getting ahead of myself, rather than just looking to this week, against Toora.
Toora coach Jack Weston acknowledges Thorpdale as probably the in-form team of the competition.
"Hopefully, we can take our improved performance and put it together for four quarters against Thorpdale this weekend," Weston said.
Things don't always go as expected, however. If anyone is looking for evidence of that, just take a peek at last weekend's AFL results.
Hill End v Foster
Hill End is far from dead and buried, but do need to breathe life into its season.
There would be no better way for the Rovers to do that than on their home ground and against a quality opposition, like the one they face this week in Foster.
They have shown just glimpses of the sort of footy that had them as league leaders just a short few seasons ago. There is no question they need to find more and, once found, produce it for longer.
"Against MDU last week, we played well in patches again and it was good to see some of our players improving," Hill End coach Mike Santo said. "But, there is no doubt that an in-form Foster this week will be another big challenge."
The Tigers dropped an unexpected one a fortnight ago against Morwell East, but certainly bounced last week against Mirboo North. They showed that their best is as good as any in the competition.
Foster coach Sam Davies said it was nice to get some real confidence back into the group.
"We've shown little glimpses all year, and on the weekend we put four quarters together after tinkering with a few little things throughout the week," Davies said.
"The group has so much ability but needed (Saturday's win) to give them positive reinforcement," he added.
"A trip up to Willow Grove to visit Mike and his boys is next, and they defeated us up there last year, so we are in for a battle," Davies said.
It is hard to see the Tigers being beaten by Hill End. You would hope the players don't assume the result like this writer, or things might get closer than they wish.
Fish Creek v Boolarra
The room for error is slowly narrowing for Boolarra.
The Demons have been on the wrong end of several close games and, with the competition so tight, there is a real chance those results will come back to haunt them unless they make a move.
Boolarra coach Tony Giardina reflected on players yet again giving a top side a start last week.
"Kept them goalless for two quarters, they turned the heat up in the last, and the game was over," Giardina said. "We are matching it with the good sides, but aren't playing four quarters which is killing us."
Where there is life there is hope. Boolarra will hope breathe life back into the season this week, but a stumbling block will be an in-form Fish Creek team.
Fish Creek coach Jarrod Walker was pleased with last week's win.
"It was good to have even contributors across the ground," Walker said. "But, we are expecting Boolarra to come out firing. It is always a tight contest, so it will be a high pressure game.
Pressure is what brings the best out in individuals and in teams, so we can expect to see quite possibly some of the best football this season played on the Kangaroos' home deck.
It is sure to be one of the most exciting and important games for these two teams this year.
MDU v Morwell East
On the surface, this might appear to be just another game. In reality, it is anything but.
MDU has shown it has what it takes to be considered a finals contender. Up until a fortnight ago, Morwell East had done the same.
Two weeks, however, can seem like an eternity if you're not winning, and the Hawks don't even want to consider a third week of losing.
Morwell East coach Paul Henry said it was important for his team to bounce back after a loss to the benchmark team two weeks ago.
"Last week, we scored a goal in the first 30 seconds and our ball movement against the wind in the first was excellent," Henry said. "The next three quarters, Thorpy really stepped it up. We still kept cracking in and, at moments, I thought we were coming. But to Thorpy's credit, they just didn't allow the momentum to swing our way for a long period of time."
Henry labelled this week's away game to MDU as "a big, big game" as "every win counts" in a tight competition.
There is no doubt the importance of this game for both sides. For Morwell East, it is a chance to get back to the winners' list. For the Demons, a chance to string some wins together.
MDU coach Nathan Allen said this week was another great challenge.
"Really important for us to back up with a good performance and also a chance to build some momentum as a group," Allen added.
With Boolarra and Hill End falling out of last year's top six at this stage, the door is open for a couple of new faces to take the spots available. This week, however, there is only room for one.
Mirboo North v Tarwin
If ever there were two sides who failed to reach the heights they wished for and many expected, it would be Mirboo North and Tarwin.
There is no doubting the talents of both teams. However, talent without results leaves players, coaches and supporters feeling empty. Only winning can fill back up the hope that carried clubs through pre-season and into season 2023.
Mirboo North coach Peter Mongta reflected last week was the biggest loss of the season against a Foster side who did everything right.
"We struggled to make any impact in and around the contest with bigger bodies and good outside run that really hurt us," Mongta said. "Now this week we face Tarwin at home and our message was to move on very quickly."
In many ways, that is the answer. Get on with the job, do not worry about what you cannot change, but take control of what you can.
Tarwin coach Troy Hemming had similar thoughts, saying "the only thing we do is move onto next week".
"We are learning a lot with this group this year," Hemming said. "We are still very positive that when we get our plan to click, it will challenge teams for four quarters."
As good as these two sides are, or could be, unless evidence of that is on the scoreboard, players and coaches will quickly become frustrated on not being able to execute what has been practised for, for so long.
This is "D-Day" for these two teams.
Newborough v Stony Creek
Newborough has rebuilt the fortress at which they play home games, not physically but certainly metaphorically.
Any side finding themselves there will have to be at their best, focused and courageous to walk away with a win. It seems only bad luck or unexpected injuries might slow the Bulldogs down.
"Like all clubs at the moment, we are hoping our injury list is shortened by Saturday when we play Stony Creek at home," Newborough coach Craig Skinner said. "We are expecting a good, tough contest that Chris (Verboon) and his team will bring to the kennel."
The Lions coach has a good idea on what to expect from Newborough. Whilst having a bye and viewing his former side Leongatha get beaten for the first time in nearly two years, he will also realise that anything is possible.
"We have rested up but now take on the ladder leaders," Verboon said.
The Lions have already shown improvement on the season prior, but this week will give them a first-hand look at what the benchmark of the MGFNL competition looks like.
Bye: Yinnar