76 SATURDAY JULY 11 2015 GEELONGADVERTISER.COM.AU

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Brauman said. “I think this hasprobably been a few yearscoming. We all started a coupleof years ago together andare just starting to really jelltogether now, and all theyoung blokes are starting toget used to senior footy andplaying well together.”

Coach Craig McGough wasthe man responsible forappointing Brauman captain,and said his young charge hadbecome a more rounded playersince taking on the addedresponsibility of leading theclub.

“We just felt that it was an

important part of his develop-ment to get into a leadershiprole,” he said.

“He’s an incredibly talentedkid. He’s tough, he’s a team-first type player, but he stillhad some areas he needed todevelop into his game and wefelt a lot of those were going tobe based around some leader-ship responsibility.

“He’s really grown through-out the whole pre-season. He’sbecome a hell of a lot morevocal and he’s got a betterunderstanding of the gamethrough having to take on thatresponsibility.”

The Tigers are fourth on theladder, separated only by per-centage from second spot, andjust four points from top spot.

While some clubs avoid talkof finals, McGough said theTigers were embracing whatlies ahead.

“In the position we’re in

now we should well and trulyachieve playing finals footy,”he said.

“We don’t have the creditsin the bank to be arrogantenough to think too far ahead,but we also need to understandthat we’re most likely going toplay finals and we need tounderstand what we do oncewe get there to perform well.”

Bannockburn takes onAnakie this afternoon, a side itbeat by 107 points earlier in theyear, and against whom Brau-man has kicked 16 goals intheir last four games.

But he isn’t expecting aneasy ride today.

“I’ve had a bit of a lucky runagainst them. Hopefully I canget another good match on theweekend,” he said.

“But it’s going to be a reallytough match. We’ve got a fewinjuries so I’m expecting apretty tough day.”

Belmont Lions will make three changes for its crucial clash with top-three aspirant Inverleigh. The Lions welcome back Lowell Hunter, Brad Edwards, John Hambrook. They replace Bart Wadley, Simon Fragiotta and Adam Leamer, who were omitted. “It’s a big game,” Belmont coach Dave McKiernan said. “It’s between us and Thomson for fifth spot and that’s why these games are important. If we can knock off a team above us, it certainly helps us with our aim to play finals.” The Hawks will be without star midfielder Blake Hutchinson, who was suspended at the AFL Barwon tribunal. “They’ve shown this year that they’ve been able to cover good players,” McKiernan said.

INVERLEIGH v BELMONT LIONS

Inverleigh Rec Res, today, 2.10pm

East Geelong will continue to blood its younger players over the remainder of the season with Daniel Cox and Liam Crocker set to line up against Bell Post Hill tomorrow.Eagles coach Ricky O’Toole admitted with only a handful of players remaining from the grand final clashes with the Panthers, the close rivalry the two teams had experienced in recent years was not as strong this year.But O’Toole said the reigning premiers, who are currently sitting in second spot on the ladder, were still the yardstick of the competition.Bell Post Hill has won its last four games, and when these two last met the Panthers won by 59 points.

EAST GEELONG v BELL POST HILL

Richmond Crescent, today, 2.10pm

Corio is hopeful of snaring a win between now and the end of the season, and coach Brett Pollard believes today’s game against Werribee presents a good chance of that happening.The Devils are yet to get four points in 2015, but after a devastating loss to North Geelong last weekend, were buoyed by the appearance of former AFL player and current Bell Host Hill coach Brent Grgic at training during the week.Pollard said he had been impressed by the character the group had shown in the wake of the result against the Magpies. With a favourable draw in the coming weeks, Werribee remains an outside chance of finals so will be fired up after a big loss to Inverleigh.

CORIO v WERRIBEE CENTRALS

Shell Oval, today, 2.10pm

Geelong West coach Mark Hounslow says his team will take plenty of confidence into today’s game against North Geelong after its 21-point loss to Bannockburn last Saturday.Hounslow said the Cheetahs had been through a tough year but continued turning up to training and doing the right things, and was hopeful they would be rewarded with a victory in the run home.The Magpies are coming off a 271-point victory over Corio and will travel to West Oval looking to maintain their winning form.This will be the second of four straight games against the bottom four teams for the visitors, who sit a game outside top spot.

GEELONG WEST v NORTH GEELONG

West Oval, today, 2.10pm

Anakie coach Phil Gavin says the club paid for the price for playing just one quarter against Winchelsea last week, admitting it had been a disappointing day.The Roos’ final chances are now well and truly shot, and they will host Bannockburn this afternoon, a side who defeated them by 107 points when they met earlier in the year.Gavin said despite a tough draw, there were some winnable games in the run home and the players were upbeat ahead of the final six games of the year.Bannockburn is just a game away from top spot and will want to get into some decent form ahead of finals.

ANAKIE v BANNOCKBURN

Anakie Rec Res, today, 2.10pm

They are second-bottom on the ladder and have just two wins for the season. But Winchelsea won’t be taken lightly, according to suspended Thomson captain Jackson Macleod. “I don’t think we should underestimate them,” Macleod said. “But I’m confident we can do the job. We can’t afford to drop one. We have to be on top of our game.” The Tigers are seemingly fighting Belmont for the final spot in the top five, and with the Lions tackling ladder leader Inverleigh today, Macleod’s men can leap from their rivals and go four points clear. Thomson will regain big man Luke Maher, who has missed the last six weeks through injury. “He definitely helps us,” Macleod said of Maher. “We need a big body to help out in the ruck.”

WINCHELSEA v THOMSON

Eastern Reserve, today, 2.10pm

THE last time Bannockburnwon a final, Jack Brauman wasjust 14 years old.

Peter Riccardi kicked twogoals and was best on ground,and things for the club werelooking good.

That was six years ago, andsince that day the Tigers haveplayed in five finals matches,losing every one. Their twostraight sets exits in 2010 and2012 were extremely disap-pointing for a club searchingfor its first taste of premiershipsuccess since 2003.

But the winds of change atVictoria Park have seen Ban-nockburn rise again after acouple of years developing itsyounger brigade, led by Brau-man, who was made co-captain last year at age 18.

“It’s been going pretty wellat the moment. We’ve onlyhad two losses so we’re prettyhappy with how we’re going,”

YOUNG LEADERSHIP: Bannockburn co-captain Jack Brauman has his eyes fixed on finals football this year. Picture: PETER RISTEVSKI

Tigers embracing what lies ahead

Lachie

lachaln.young@news.com.au

YOUNG

GDFL