It is not quite grand final stakes, but Leopold captain Marcus Thompson knows how crucial tomorrow’s clash with South Barwon is to his club’s hopes of winning consecutive premierships for the first time.
A win over the Swans will put the Lions in the box seat to claim the double chance, with meetings against lowly St Albans, North Shore, and Newtown & Chilwell to end the season.
Leopold hasn’t lost to South under Garry Hocking’s reign, posting five consecutive victories dating back to Round 6, 2022.
“(A) huge game in the context of finals for both sides,” Thompson told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary.
“Our previous record against them; for us, it doesn’t really come into play at all.
“We know we don’t want complacency to creep into our group and think, ‘Because we’ve been on the winning side the last few times that that’s going to be the case come Saturday.
“Both sides are fighting for what is a tight top five and chasing, hopefully, top three.
“It was a really hot and contested physical game last time, and expect nothing less come Saturday 2pm, which is really exciting.”
Thompson has described having the first weekend of the spilt round off as an “absolute blessing”.
“We had the Sunday game with Colac, so not having to worry about a six-day turnaround was great.
“For us older fellas, we take it nice and easy and reset the body.
“And with the news about ‘Buddha’, it’s been good to compartmentalise all that, go away, and reset a little bit.
“Training (Tuesday) night was business as usual, and the boys are up and about, ready to attack the final month of home and away.”
Geelong VFL-listed defender Bailey van de Heuvel will make his Leopold debut after overcoming a knee injury suffered earlier in the season.
With no Cats games to his name, the Lions will have time to qualify van de Heuvel for finals.
Experienced duo Sam Scott and Ollie Tate are back after missing the pre-bye win over Colac.
They’re replacing James Edmonds, Oscar Morphet, and Jye Cross at this stage.
South Barwon has made a surprise call by dropping Jonty Broughton, among three changes.
Broughton, who last played reserves in early 2022, has kicked 23 goals from 12 games this year.
Andrew Hutchison and Tom Bartlett have also been omitted.
Lachie Noble returns from injury, and Jake Peters and Austin Shepherd have been recalled from the reserves.
GFNL: AT SELECTION – ROUND 15 (PART 2)
St Mary’s will welcome back Charlie Sprague and Sam Christensen for their first games since Round 9, among three changes for the clash with North Shore at Anthony Costa Oval.
Myrtleford recruit Elijah Wales has also been promoted.
Kade Chalcaft has earned a call-up to Geelong VFL, while Matt Keast and Fletcher Hughes are sidelined through illness.
Geelong Falcon Josh Sanders returns for Lara as it prepares to host Bell Park at Bisinella Oval.
He replaces captain Billy Goodwin (abdominal).
The Cats will be hoping to put on a good show in front of the club’s 1994 premiership heroes, who will gather at the Snakepit to mark the 30th anniversary of their first GFNL premiership.
Osca Riccardi, who will play his first game in three months, is among three inclusions for the Dragons.
Jack McMahon is also back and Rhys McWaters has been recalled after a week in the reserves.
They replace Tyler Pidgeon (illness), Riley Hanrahan (ankle), and Jack Purcell.
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