It’s the game supporters have been waiting for.
After 15 rounds of Picola and District Football League action, the competition’s two premier sides are set to do battle.
On Saturday afternoon Waaia will face off with Tungamah on its home deck for a first-against-second clash.
Currently in second place, the Bombers have lost just one game this season, while the league-leading Tungamah are yet to drop any points.
Waaia coach Mark Meyland said his side was excited by the challenge of the Bears.
“We’re definitely respecting Tungamah, I don’t think they’ve got a passenger all over the ground so we’re going to have our work cut out for us no doubt,” Meyland said.
“We’re definitely going to go in with nothing to lose, that’s for sure.
“We’ll hope to be there or with them at the end and whether we win or lose it’s not going to define our season I don’t think.”
Meyland explained that Waaia were still unsure what side would take to the park on Saturday, with the Bombers finishing last weekend’s game without a bench.
He said while a few players were looking good to return from injury, he was unsure if they would pull on the shirt this week.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty good midfield battle, Xavier Stevenson looks like he’s in some pretty hot form, we’ve got Jesse Trower who’s in pretty good form for us so I think that’s probably worth a ticket to the game in itself,” Meyland said.
While the midfield battle will be fiery on the weekend, the forward-50 battle is shaping up to be just as intriguing with two of the competition’s best goal-kickers set to line up.
The current top-two on the goal-kicking leaderboard, Tungamah’s Ash Saunders and Waaia’s Charlie Burrows, will line up at either end of the field and both sides will have to be at their best to stop the talents.
Tungamah coach Xavier Stevenson said it was a massive game for the Bears.
“It’s one versus two in the seniors and one versus two in the reserves as well so we’re really looking forward to the challenge,” Stevenson said.
“I guess it’s kinda been a game that we’ve had an eye on for a couple of weeks now, knowing where we both sit on the ladder, so we’ve been ready for it for a while.”
Stevenson said the Bears were expecting slick ball movement from the Bombers, with the Tungamah mentor acknowledging the strength of Waaia’s side.
“We’re extremely confident in our list as well, we think that when we’re playing our type of football we’re really hard to play against so we’re hoping we can bring much of the same as we have throughout the year,” he said.
Tungamah is hoping Nick Lawless will return for the clash and with a good list to pick from, Stevenson is likely to be faced with some selection headaches.
Saturday afternoon’s game will begin at 2.05pm in Waaia.
In other round 15 action, Berrigan and Katunga will face off in an important game for both sides.
With the Saints in eighth spot and the visiting Swans in sixth, the contest is a must-win if either team is to secure a finals place.
Over in Blighty, the Redeyes will face off with Katamatite, while Jerilderie will host the Deni Rovers.
Elsewhere Rennie will welcome Strathmerton and Katandra will face an away day in Tocumwal.
Picola United and Mathoura have a week off.