Tara Murray
Macedon sits exactly where it deserves to be in the Riddell District Football League according to coach Al Meldrum.
The Cats enter the final round of the regular season in fifth spot, the last finals spot, needing a win against the bottom side Western Rams to ensure they play finals.
The Cats moved back into the top five last week, despite having the bye, with Woodend-Hesket losing to Wallan. If the Cats lose, they will still play finals if Woodend-Hesket losses to Romsey.
After a pre-season that promised so much, it has been a difficult year for the Cats.
“It’s been pretty challenging, especially the last five to six weeks with attrition and personnel,” Meldrum said before the final round.
“I’m never one to give excuses, but it’s been a pretty big challenge for everyone to get reserves on the park in recent weeks.
“The 17s had to fill in for the under-19s and the flow on effect.”
With the struggles with personnel, the Cats put out one of their worst performances in recent times against Wallan.
There were six under-19s in the senior team that day, along with another five players who aren’t usual senior players.
Meldrum said some players had never played in a result like that in their senior careers at Macedon.
“Every club has their challenges, with the last month pretty tough for us in terms of just getting teams on the park and trying to be competitive as normal,” he said.
“The mindset of the players took a bit of a hit after that result. We’ve got some players returning, hopefully we’ll get the result we need.”
Meldrum said while the results had been tough this year, the long term benefits would be reaped with some of the younger players getting opportunities they normally wouldn’t.
The club’s bottom age under-17 team was set to play off in the grand final on Sunday, after deadline, highlighting the talent coming through.
While they are set to get some players back, Meldrum said the pencil had gone through the names of five or six senior players for the season.
On paper, the match with the Rams seemed a simple one. Meldrum said they just had to focus on what they needed to do.
Meldrum said if they make finals, they were hoping to shock a few teams.
“We’re exactly where we deserve to be,” he said. “We’ve beaten everyone below us and not any one above us.
“It would be an achievement to go and make an impact and surprise everyone else in the competition.
“We’ll get the job done this weekend and see what happens, there’s no expectations on us which could be a good thing.”
In other matches in the final round, Wallan is set to face Diggers Rest, Lancefield is due to host Riddell, while Woodend-Hesket will play Romsey.
