Tracking nicely |
 PRIZE QUARTET: Ross Cavill, Steve Williamson, Mick Newton and Anthony McGuire have all added to Milawa’s flag chances this year. PHOTO: Cheryl Browne Milawa on pace to repeat 2009 premiership success Written by SCOTT ANDERSON. TO say Milawa is in good form at the moment would be something of an understatement. The Demons haven’t been defeated since mid-May, and their sole blemish – if it can even be called that – in the past two months was a heart-stopping draw against fellow heavyweight Tarrawingee. Their seven victories during the period have come at an average of 130 points, and they are coming off their greatest winning margin in recent memory after belting Goorambat by 221 points last weekend. Daniel Lewis was the star of the show against the Bats, booting 14 goals, and coach Mick Newton said he was looking forward to having his strike weapon available for the rest of the season after he missed the previous match against Tarrawingee. "Daniel’s form had been pretty good leading up to last week," Newton said. "He’s been finding his feet in the side and building up nicely, and the rest of the guys are starting to use him well. "He didn’t kick any in the first quarter last week, so to finish with 14 is pretty incredible. "He’s at uni in Melbourne studying to be a chiropractor, so he’s missed three games due to school, but he is available for the rest of the year now, which is a bonus." With few major injury concerns and names like Daniel Lewis, Ross Cavill, Steve Williamson and Anthony McGuire bolstering the side since last year, it all bodes well for the Demons to have a crack at back to back flags come September, and Newton agrees. "I’d say we’re pretty similar to where we were at last year," he said. "Injury-wise and fitness-wise we’re in pretty good shape at the moment. "The difficult thing has been maintaining consistency – that’s something we probably weren’t doing too well a couple of years ago. "But if you look at this year, our two losses have both been against top four clubs, so I think we’ve overcome that problem now." With the Demons in such good shape, it would be easy to forgive a flat performance, but Newton said there was no room for complacency leading into what shapes as the most intriguing finals series in years. "You’d like to think we wouldn’t get complacent, because the top four isn’t sewn up just yet," he said. "We’re still vulnerable – if we lose our last three games we won’t make the top four. "It’s just so close this year – there are five sides right in the mix, so we need to stay consistent." One side sitting just outside the perceived five flag threats is Greta, which has barely had a chance to garner any momentum thanks to a horror run with injuries. But Newton said the Blues remained a threat, and would not be taken lightly by the Demons when the two sides meet at Milawa tomorrow. "Staying up is always a challenge, no matter who you play," he said. "But they’ll be really keen to win this week, especially in the lead up to the finals, so we’re going to have to be on the ball. "They play a defensive style of game, and we’ve had some good contests against them previously, so I think it will be a tough match." |
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