In round 16 of the Murray League, the Deni Rams are travelling away to play against The Road at Congupna.
Last round, the Rams were defeated by 57 points at the hands of Moama, who are the second-placed team in the competition.
Rams senior football coach, Gary Parsons, said the team competed well but again were just slightly undersized against their bigger Magpie opponents.
“They were just a bit physical for us. We were outmuscled,” he said.
“Then they ran it away from the contest a little better than us.
“They were just too good, but we’ve got to remember they’re the second top side in the competition.
“Overall I think we were in the game, and I think it was a bit closer than it showed on the scoreboard.”
The Rams’ opponents this weekend, Congupna, are undefeated in the seniors this season.
They have an astounding average winning margin of just over 115 points per game, after 15 rounds.
The Road are the reigning premiers after defeating Finley by one point in last year’s grand final, and only lost one game during last year’s Murray League season.
It was despite having closer results across last season compared with their dominance so far this year.
In the last clash between the two sides in round eight this year, Congupna won by 118 points at Hardinge St oval.
Parsons said the recent track record against Congupna is imposing, but said it is possible to challenge them.
“They’re obviously a very good side, coming off last year. Then it seems they’ve topped up again with another three or four quality players from the Goulburn Valley League.
“We’ll be going in for a challenge.”
“They’ve beaten most sides by 100 points, but we’ll have a go and have a real crack.
“We’ll go man-on-man, which is the best formation against these sort of sides.
“Being such a good side, they probably haven’t faced a lot of pressure this year.
“The aim will be to bring real physical pressure and get them off their game and try to affect some of their ball use.”
The Rams will be looking to finish the season on a high, buoyed by last week’s Past Players and Supporters’ Day.
“We’ve always had good support,” Parsons said.
“Some of those who attended last week played at the club at least 40 years ago, so it is a great effort to attend a past players’ day.
“There’s plenty of support and from that point of view, and that’s all you can ask for.
“We’ve had a good season, especially with the number of players who have come up from the reserves and thirds and played well. It all augurs really well for the future.
“But we’ve got ourselves in a good position this year, and hope to finish strongly with another couple of wins.
“We want to start this weekend, which I’d say is not a test; I’d call it a challenge.
“And its the biggest challenge you can have in the comp.”