Manor Lakes is daring to dream of a Western Region Football League division 2 finals appearance, even with the odds stacked against the spirited second-year club.
A month ago, the Storm was in no man’s land, languishing four games and percentage out of the top four.
Today they are a mere game out of fourth spot and entering the penultimate round on a seven-game winning streak.
The Storm kept their season alive with a stirring come-from-behind nine-point win over double chance-chasing West Footscray at Howqua Reserve on Saturday.
Storm coach Heath Hunter knows the fixture makers will not hand a final berth to his club on a platter, with games against second-placed Wyndhamvale and top side Parkside to round out the regular season, but he would not have it any other way.
“It’s a tough way to finish, but if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” he said.
“We’ll have to play them in finals if we make the finals, so it will be a good opportunity to knock them off now. It’s a good opportunity for us.”
There will be plenty on the line for Manor Lakes and Wyndhamvale when the sides meet in a Wyndham derby at Howqua Reserve this week.
The Storm want to keep the pressure on wobbly fourth-placed Glenorden, while the Falcons have their own fight to preserve their top-two status.
“It’s going to be a massive game for both clubs,” Hunter said.
Hunter took a lot out of the Falcons’ 96-point dismantling of his side back on May 24.
He knows that to beat them, the Storm needs to limit the Falcons’ spread from the stoppages, not allow them to set up off the half-back line and limit the impact of gun forward Paul O’Shea.
“If we can stop their run and carry, we’ll be in for the long haul in the contest,” Hunter said.
“The first time we played them, we just allowed their midfielders off the leash too much and they just served it to him [O’Shea] on a platter and had an easy day out.”
Matthew Luketic is the defender who stands between O’Shea and a century of goals for the season.
Hunter rates Luketic one of the best defenders in the division and has called for his inclusion in the team of the year.
Other players to keep an eye on for the Storm are midfielder Cameron Baker who carved up West Footscray with a season-best performance on Saturday, and ruckman Caelin Wright who is coming off an impressive showing against Rooster Michael Kennedy, one of the favourites to be named first ruck in the team of the year.
