Round 14 Preview

Split round for hockey round 14
Kaniva and Dimboola clubs will host Wimmera Hockey Association’s round 14 matches in a split round on Saturday.
At Kaniva from 11am home junior side Raiders will have a tough match against Leopards. Brady Dixon has been quite strong for Raiders and will need to push up where goal scorers Braden Clark and Kendal Meyer will need to be on target in the circle, taking advantage of opportunities. Taylor Dent will work hard for Leopards to stop them and allow his own scorers Ben Smith and Michelle Fahrina to capitalise.
Bombers and Revengers will be evenly matched. The ball will pass between Bombers defenders Jahan Randall-Demllo and Sean Creek and Revengers defender Mark Hewitt, giving plenty of youngsters in the centre opportunity to shine.
Kaniva Women will fight hard for the points against Warrack Women. Kaniva needs the points to get ahead of Yanac Women and into the top four with only four rounds to go. Even a draw would help Kaniva at this stage. Warrack are still strengthening and this match could have an interesting result.
Hoops will want to regroup after being defeated by Tigers last week 6-2 and if they have a full play list will give Kaniva Men a hard time. Hoops may need the win to hold onto their second spot on the ladder, currently sitting on equal points with Hurricanes. If Mathew McDonald works hard and scores for Kaniva the team could do well.
At Dimboola from 9.30am the two junior Dimboola teams will meet again. The weaker side Kookaburras have gained valuable experience during the season, even scoring against second-placed Leopards last week, and will keep top junior side Kangaroos busy.
Yanac Women will be fighting to hold on to their finals berth when they play Dimboola Women. Second-placed Dimboola are strong and may not give away any points this week.
Highlanders have capable players all over the field and will work the ball around Thunderbirds. Anna Rowe, Rosie Wallis and the McLeods have worked hard for Thunderbirds in recent games and will need to dig deep again this week. They would benefit from keeping tabs on Kate Ferrier midfield and Ellie Morrow up forward.
Dimboola Men will have a tough match against top team Tigers who have been dominating all season. A return of Tim and Basil Jorgensen could help boost the Dimboola side.
Hurricanes narrowly defeated Kaniva Men last week and may have a similar result this week against Nhill. Nhill could dig deep however, and are fully capable of scoring especially when Mont Miller has his eye in. Hurricanes defenders Will Hewitt and Richard Kemp will need to be mindful of loose players.
Junior team Warriors has the bye.
- Rachel Clark