Murray Bushrangers will make their much-anticipated return to Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve on Friday Night, hosting Northern Knights in an intriguing round four NAB League match-up.
The Bushies come into this clash brimming with confidence after back-to-back wins, including a 116-point mauling of an inexperienced Northern Territory Thunder last week.
But the task gets much tougher for the Murray boys this week, as they take on the Melbourne-based Knights, who will be itching to get back on the winner’s list after a pair of losses.
Bushrangers coach Mark Brown said his team was up for the challenge.
“We played the Northern Knights in a practice match about four weeks ago and it was a really good hit-out, we got up by about two goals but it was a really high-quality game of footy,” Brown said.
“The goal for us is just to continue to get better; at the moment we are trying to establish a strong brand of footy, the last two weeks have certainly been a step in the right direction, but we cannot wait to test ourselves against the Knights this weekend.”
Dominating from start to finish in last week’s win over the NT Thunder, Brown said there were a lot of positives to take out of the performance despite the weakened opposition.
“I think we connected to our forward half a lot better than we had in previous weeks,” he said following the victory.
“One really pleasing aspect of the game was that our talls started to mark the footy, we have got a really tall side this year and those key position players always take longer to develop, so to see them have a consistent impact, that will hold us in really good stead.
“Hopefully they can take a lot of confidence out of the win and keep playing good footy.”
The first of two home games at Deakin Reserve this season is something Brown said the entire Bushrangers fraternity always had circled on the calendar.
“We love getting back to Shepparton and love getting the opportunity to play in front of our local crowds, and the Shepparton crowd always turns out, which is pleasing,” he said.
“The ground creates a great atmosphere; hopefully we will get some nice weather and a great chance to showcase what we are capable of against what we are expecting to be a really good opponent.”
From a Goulburn Valley perspective, Bushies co-captain and Seymour product Nick Quigg will be the key to success through the midfield, while Tatura native Brayden George has been a strong presence up forward to start the season.
The Bushies take on Northern Knights at Deakin Reserve, with the action starting at 5pm.