As is often said when arch rivals do battle, ladder positions do not matter when the Tigers and Hawks clash, with the intensity set to go up a notch.
But Cobram will come into the match full off confidence after destroying Finley by 98 points in round one, before backing it up with an impressive 36-point win on the road against an up-and-coming Congupna side last week.
Sitting pretty in fourth spot, Tigers coach John Brunskill said his team was raring to go for this much-anticipated clash.
“These matches with Barooga are always pretty tough so we will certainly have to be on our toes,” Brunskill said.
“We didn’t get a home game against Barooga last year so this game is three years in the making for us and we can’t wait to get into it.
“Our work ethic over the first two weeks has just been outstanding, it feels like we are just starting to roll into form nicely and play the type of footy we want to play.”
It has been an indifferent start to 2022 for Barooga on the other hand, who after suffering a humiliating 102-point season opening loss to Deniliquin, responded strongly to fall by just 14 points to competition pace-setters Tongala last week.
A side littered with elite talent and desperate to register its first win for the season, Brunskill said he wouldn’t be taking the Hawks lightly.
“At the end of the day we just need to kick more goals (than them),” he said.
“We just have to stick to our structures and stick to what we know, only losing to Tongala by 14 points last week we know that Barooga is a very good side, and we will need to be at our best to win.
“They will without doubt be up for this clash against us being rivals and wanting to get that first win on the board, so it presents as a really exciting challenge just three weeks into the season.”
Elsewhere, Finley will be hoping to produce a Good Friday upset as it travels to Deniliquin to face a red-hot Rams unit.
Returning to their Finley Recreation Reserve home deck last weekend for a clash with Numurkah, the Cats simply weren’t able to make the most of their opportunities, falling by 37 points under lights.
“We won a lot of contests, a lot of forward inside-50 entries,” Finley coach Angus Robertson told Southern Riverina News.
“But we struggled to convert, we weren’t reactive enough when Numurkah got the ball, we weren’t manning up enough.
"Our positives were just intensity, and our pressure was really good when we had the ball.
"It was our ability to get the ball forward very quick, which is something we’ve worked on.“
Desperate to register its first win of 2022, the task doesn’t get any easier for Finley, with the second-placed Rams awaiting them after two strong victories to open the season.
Robertson said his team was excited for the opportunity to play on the big stage against one of the competition’s best sides.
“Good Friday is always so much fun — it’s a big crowd,” he said.
“We understand Deni is a good outfit and respect the way they go about it.”
Nathalia will be praying for a Good Friday miracle as it makes the daunting trip to Tongala on the back of a devastating 140-point loss to Moama last weekend.
A pivotal 3-0 start is on the line for Mulwala as it welcomes a Congupna side desperate to bounce back from a poor-showing against Cobram.
Numurkah will be looking to make it back-to-back wins when it welcomes a winless Rumbalara to the showgrounds.
Ladder-leader Moama rounds out the exciting slate of Good Friday action with a home clash against cellar dweller Echuca United.
