BY NATHAN DOLE
MOULAMEIN or Hay will advance to the Golden Rivers FNL senior footy grand final by winning Saturday’s preliminary final at Macorna.
The clash of the Swans and Lions starts at 2.40pm.
Winner earns a shot at Ultima in the September 16 grand final on Murrabit’s turf.
Victorious in all three matches with the Lions this season, Moulamein will start as favourite on Saturday.
The Swans won the round three clash with Hay at Moulamein by four goals.
In round eight the Swans won in the Lions’ den by 14 points.
Most recent meeting was the 13th round where the Swans won 80-51 at Hay.
Moulamein is on the rebound from a 95-51 loss to Ultima in the second semi-final.
Hay kicked off the finals series by winning the first semi against Macorna by 15 goals.
Simon Bunyan and Declan Watson kicked five goals each as co-captain Kenneth Jubb, Tom Spence, Jack Headon and Fergus Cattanach led the Lions’ charge.
Key match-ups in the preliminary final will be Cody Storm in the Swans’ defence against Declan Watson, and Kaylem Hartley opposed to Kenneth Jubb.
Moulamein’s midfield of Ely Miller, Amos Farrell and Michael Morson will be up against Jack Headon, Dom Booth and Tom Spence.
A strong attack for Moulamein which is led by Andy Silva, Khy Stovell and Josh Flight will take on Jack Cattanach, Clint Brunnenmeyer and co-captain Brad Pocock.
Other key players for Moulamein include Blake Azzopardi, Amos Farrell, captain Heath Moloney, Rodney Reeves, Anthony Daw and Luke Shannon.
Hay will look for big games from the likes of Luke Arandt, Will Clark, Jensen Hargreaves, James Moran and Daniel Zambon.
It’s a showdown between the Tigers and Bombers as Macorna tackles Wandella in the reserves match at 12.35pm.
The Tigers were beaten 68-33 in the second semi clash with Ultima.
Wandella marked a 57-47 victory against Murrabit in the first semi-final.
The preliminary finalists have met four times this season.
Wandella won 60-27 in round one, and 43-15 in the 11th round.
The Tigers marked a 77-39 victory at home in the seventh round, and took the points in a 57-51 result at Wandella in the 15th round.
Key players for Macorna include Josh Berryman, Ryan Dee, John Officer and Luke Spalding.
Best for the Bombers in the first semi were Bailey Hamon, Tanner Treacy, Adam McKenzie and Austin Crellin.
Macorna takes on Moulamein in the under-17 ½ preliminary final at 10.45am.
The Tiger cubs from Macorna were beaten 64-29 by Ultima in the second semi.
Best for the yellow and black last Saturday were Broden Wishart, Alby Bear, Rawley Nicholson and Blake Forster.
Moulamein’s finals campaign kicked off with an 88-47 victory against Wandella in the first semi.
Lachie Martin, Joseph Herold, Lochlan Prentice and Ethan Fitzpatrick were best in the Swans’ latest victory.
This season’s meetings between Macorna and Moulamein have all been won by the Tigers.
Preliminary final day kicks off at 9.35am with the under-14 ½ match between Macorna and Ultima.
In last Saturday’s second semi, Macorna was beaten by a goal in the match with Wandella.
Best for the Tigers were Ewan Ray, Jacoby Tonkin, Cooper Carmichael and Will Longstaff.
Ultima scored a 27-19 win against Hay in the first semi as Rory Bell, Nate Keam, Oliver Alderuccio and Riley Hender starred for the Kangaroos.
The Tigers defeated Ultima in all three matches in the home-and-away series by margins of 32, two and 10 points.