THIS weekend’s Premier Division top-of-the-table clash sees Vermont venture out to Blackburn as the two undefeated sides vie to keep their winning streak alive.
Both clubs have a lot of respect for one-another and acknowledged that a win won’t come easy.
Blackburn skipper Patrick Contin said that the reigning premiers are “travelling very well”.
“They’re always a very good side and it’s always a good test but we’re really enjoying our footy and the way we’re going about it at the moment so we’re really looking forward to Saturday,” Contin said.
Vermont captain Lachie Johns had similar praise for his opposition.
“Coming up against a team like Blackburn will be a good test to measure ourselves and see how we’re actually travelling,” Johns said.
Vermont captain Lachie Johns gets a handball away against Blackburn in 2017. PHOTO: Davis Harrigan Photography
The Blackburn skipper said that the key to his side’s success is focusing on their own play and not worrying too much about the opposition.
“Obviously we do our homework on them, they’re a very good side across the board,” Contin said.
“But we’re about controlling what we can control and as long as we stick to our structures and keep putting in performances like we have in the first three games then that puts us in good stead for the weekend.
“Nothing really changes from what we’ve been trying to do for the year, it all starts with our defence and we can go from there.”
Contin praised his side’s defensive work early in the season and said that transitioning from defence to the counter attack and creating scoring opportunities would be a key to victory.
“We’ve been quite good at defending inside deep 50 so we want to keep going with that, they are a very good side in the forward half and through the midfield, they bat very deep so we need to keep putting a good score on the board as well,” Contin said.
Not unlike his opponent, Vermont skipper Lachie Johns, said that the focus is more about getting the best out of his side as opposed to solely worrying about the opposition.
“We’re focusing on our own game-plan at the moment, we want to get our systems right,” Johns said.
“Our consistency throughout a game is something that we’ve mentioned during the week and we want to work on.
“Playing four quarters of good footy is what we want to improve and we know we won’t get away with any lapses against a team like Blackburn.”
While Vermont has suffered its fair share of injuries early in the year and its depth has been tested, the skipper said he was relieved to be seeing some of his teammates returning this week, including star midfielder Ryan Mullett named in the selected side.
“We’ve had a fair few injuries early on in the season so it’s given some opportunity to the young guys which is really good from that perspective,” Johns said.
“(Depth) has been one of Vermont’s strengths for a few years now.
“Last week we were stretched pretty thin but we’ll welcome a fair few players back this week which will be great, especially getting some of our bigger guys back.”
BLACKBURN v. VERMONT Round 4 – 04/05/2019 – Morton Park, 2.10pm
Blackburn B: P. Contin, L. Parker, M. Otten HB: T. Faulkner, L. Patterson, D. Vizzarri C: M. Doreian, X. Murphy, L. Murphy HF: M. Bartlett, R. Bathie, P. Lawlor F: L. Conca, J. Hammond, M. Day R: L. Howe, B. Daniher, N. Gray Int: K. Dove, A. Fagan, J. Harkins, S. Soccio Emg: P. Alier, M. Dunn, J. Hood, M. Young
In: J. Hood, M. Dunn, M. Young, K. Dove
Vermont B: C. McCafferty, R. Lehmann, C. Young HB: T. Johnson, M. Willcocks, H. McGowan C: R. Mullett, K. McConnon, A. Parker HF: A. Greenwood, C. Purdy, T. Schneider F: X. Barry-Murphy, T. Castledine, J. Best R: N. Minchin, S. Wadley, L. Johns Int: J. El Moussalli, J. Fisher, M. Honeychurch, T. Hyams
In: C. Purdy, R. Mullett, J. Fisher, X. Barry-Murphy, T. Castledine Out: J. Krikas, C. Stockdale, J. Bayliss, J. O’Keefe, B. Kainey