MFL | ‘It’s do-or-die’: Tongala tackles elimination heroes Moama in semi-final showdown

Nick Pavlou and Tom Sheldon were two of the heroes in the last quarter for the Magpies and Tongala coach Jordan Souter confirmed the Blues’ hopes of progressing to a preliminary could rest on their influence.

“I watched Moama on Sunday against Congupna and they played a good brand of footy,” Souter said.

“There are a few players in that side that we need to look after. If we can do that, then hopefully we can get across the line.

“Pavlou and Sheldon were two of their best players, they’re obviously two we’ll have to have a look at and hopefully keep them as quiet as possible.

“They’re a good young side. They were three or four goals down at one point, and they could have thrown the towel in but obviously didn’t.

“You can’t leave them in the game for too long otherwise they stick with you.”

Souter indicated several changes at selection on Thursday night for the crunch clash, and confirmed star pick-up Ryan Nyhuis will take no part in the game after suffering a dislocated shoulder against Deniliquin.

Tongala has had the better of the two clubs’ contests this season, but round 15 proved a thriller as the Blues stole a one-point win, a feat they will hope to replicate.

Moama will be flying high heading into the clash after its thrilling four-point win over Congupna.

Playing in their first finals series since 2017 and with their backs against the wall, the Magpies came from behind to snatch a memorable victory over the Road thanks to Pavlou’s late goal and a heroic mark from Sheldon.

Now, Moama will be hoping to replicate that same Magpie magic against the Blues as they eye a spot in the preliminary final.

But the Pies will have to overcome a rampaging Blues outfit that has won their last nine games in order to get there, something Sheldon said would be a tough task.

“I expect Tongala will throwing everything they have at us, they are a good footy side,” Moama coach Sam Sheldon said.

“They will be up and about for the challenge, no doubt, as will we. It should be a good game.

“They have some stars in there in Cameron Ilett and Darren Ewing, they have some really good players.

“It will be a good challenge for us. We can match them, we just have to play our way and give it a crack.”

The Magpies might not have been able to top Tongala this season, but the same was true about Congupna before Moama bounced them out of the finals.

“Last week was a good experience for the boys, it was a good bit of belief for them. We didn’t beat Congupna all year and it is a similar story this week with Tonny,” Sheldon said.

He said the most recent meeting between the two sides in round 15 won’t have much influence on their clash this weekend.

“It was a long time ago now, they will be a different side to that game,” he said.

“Each week is a different challenge, so I don’t think you can take much from that game.

“We watched them last week against Deni, we will put some work into a few things that we will try to achieve that I think will go a long way to winning the game.

“Tonny are a pretty loaded side so they will be expecting to win, I would have thought.

“The pressure is on them. They have had a couple of big years at having a crack at winning it and they haven’t been able to do it, so if they don’t win this week, she’s all over.

“From our point of view, it is just another good experience but we are quietly confident that we can get it done.”

The victor will go on to face either Cobram or Mulwala in next week’s preliminary final.

The Lions and Tigers clash at Finley Reserve this Saturday in hopes of securing a grand final berth.

Moama’s gutsy win over Congupna will provide plenty of confidence for the Pies as they hope to unseat Tongala for the first time this season.