PARKSIDE is one of the least hyped 10-1 win-ratio sides going around in local football at the minute.
The Magpies have played second fiddle to undefeated top dogs Yarraville-Seddon all winter.
Eight consecutive Western Region Football League division 2 wins does not matter in the pundits’ minds.
Their long and selective memories will continue to hark back to the Magpies’ red-faced 96-point loss in round three, when talk comes to the premiership race.
Magpies player-coach Nathan Juegan said a lot had changed since that day.
He said his team was much better equipped to face the Eagles second time around.
“We got smashed against them last time. We know we’re a lot better now. We see ourselves as one of the better sides in the competition.
“To beat Wyndhamvale [on Saturday] by six or seven goals was a great effort.”
How much inroads the Magpies have made will be revealed when the sides clash in a top-of-the-ladder blockbuster at Henry Turner Reserve on Saturday.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the Eagles’ consistency and Juegan is aware his players will need to bring their A-game or suffer the consequences.
“We need to make every ball count,” he said. “They’ll carve you up on the rebound if you turn the ball over.
“It’s important that we’re applying pressure the other way.”
The Magpies are not lacking motivation, nor are they running scared.
Juegan has sensed a real urgency from his players to strive to get better for a tilt at the Eagles second time around.
“The boys are jumping out of their skin to play this week,” he said.
“They know this is a team we need to beat.
“But it’s not all about winning and losing, it’s about making inroads and showing that we’ve improved from last time.”
The Magpies will go in full of confidence after Saturday’s stirring 39-point road win over Wyndhamvale.
They handled the MCG-like ground dimensions with ease and did it with limited rotations. “The boys showed a lot of character,” Juegan said.
“We were down to one on the bench at half-time.
“I was worried that we wouldn’t run out the game, but we had a big preseason and our fitness showed.”
The Magpies dominated the middle of the park on the back of a starring role from Craig Burns.
Burns feasted on the scraps at the base of the packs to get his side going forward.
Peter Krueger worked hard both ways and the two chief onballers were handed the ball on a platter by high-leaping ruckman Alex Lockhart.
Adrian Gervasi set the visiting fans alight with five goals, while Drew Vincent did just as important a role with his dour defending at the back end.
The Magpies get what they wished for on Saturday, a rematch with Yarraville-Seddon and a chance to get the pundits excited about possible clashes in the finals.
WRFL SCOREBOARD
Division 1
Deer Park 21.15 (141) d North Footscray 11.5 (71); Hoppers Crossing 20.19 (139) d Albion 9.6 (60); Port Melbourne Colts 21.15 (141) d St Albans 15.12 (102); Sunshine Heights 5.0 (30) lt Altona 25.25 (175); Sunshine 7.13 (55) lt Spotswood 13.17 (95).
Ladder: Spotswood (218.21) 48, Altona (238.11) 44, Hoppers Crossing (135.78) 36, Port Melbourne Colts (139.78) 32, Sunshine (117.20) 24, Deer Park (106.92) 20, St Albans (84.00) 16, Albion (69.12) 16, North Footscray (58.96) 4, Sunshine Heights (23.30) 0.
Next round: Sunshine Heights v Hoppers Crossing (Ainsworth Reserve), Albion v Deer Park (JR Parsons Reserve), North Footscray v Sunshine (Hansen Reserve), Spotswood v Port Melbourne Colts (McLean Reserve), St Albans v Altona (Kings Park Reserve).
Division 2
Albanvale 17.13 (115) drew Glenorden 18.7 (115); Laverton 25.20 (170) d North Sunshine 4.1 (25); West Footscray 8.6 (54) lt Coburg Districts 24.17 (161); Wyndhamvale 9.10 (64) lt Parkside 15.13 (103); Yarraville-Seddon 40.21 (261) d Braybrook 4.6 (30).
Ladder: Yarraville Seddon Eagles (500.00) 44, Parkside (212.82) 40, Coburg Districts (198.92) 36, Glenorden (173.90) 30, Wyndhamvale (193.10) 28, Albanvale (150.51) 26, West Footscray (102.95) 20, Caroline Springs (71.94) 12, Braybrook (46.65) 12, Laverton (41.70) 4, North Sunshine (4.83) 0.
Next round: Braybrook v Caroline Springs (Pennell Reserve), Coburg Districts v Wyndhamvale (Cole Reserve), Glenorden v Laverton Magpies (Heathdale), Nth Sunshine v W Footscray (Dempster Park), Parkside v Yarraville-Seddon (Turner Res).
