Beginning the season with a disappointing 1-4 record, the Road has been on a tear ever since, winning nine of their next 10 games to climb up to fifth spot on the ladder.
And on Saturday, Congupna could officially secure its spot in September, as it welcomes another of the Murray League’s top contenders in Moama for what is set to be a tantalising clash at Memorial Park.
Similar to the Road, Moama has been one of the form sides of the competition in recent weeks, reeling off victories over Cobram and Mulwala, before going down to Tongala by a point to be sitting comfortably in fourth place.
Presenting as another fantastic challenge, Congupna coach Kevin O’Donoghue said his team was champing at the bit to get out on the park for this blockbuster clash.
“It is just another big test for us and gives us a chance to cement our spot in the finals — if we win this one we officially can’t get knocked out,” O’Donoghue said.
“But coming up against another side that is in red hot form it certainly won’t be easy, and we will have to be at our very best to come away with the win.”
The second meeting between the teams this season, Congupna triumphed by 14 points in a tight battle at Jack Eddy Oval in round 11 in what was a season-defining victory for O’Donoghue’s men.
He said they would take a lot of confidence out of that performance, but also expected a fired-up Magpies unit to greet them at Memorial Park this time around.
“We played some really good football that day so we will certainly take a lot of belief out of that performance — especially in the second half when we got right on top,” he said.
“It was a real tight contest last time around and was very congested so we expect it will be a very similar style of game this weekend.
“They have got some outstanding midfielders in Nick Pavlou and Jack Russell as well as some powerful forwards which makes them such a hard team to beat.
“So the key for us will be to dial up the pressure early and force turnovers to get our fast style of play going — if we can do that it will give us the best chance to win.”
In team news, Congupna will be sweating on the fitness of spearhead Daniel Campbell, with the league’s leading goal-kicker touch-and-go after missing last week’s win over Finley with a calf complaint.
Although Campbell is a major cog to the Road’s success, O’Donoghue said he was confident they had enough weapons up forward to kick a winning score in his absence.
“If he (Campbell) is good to go, he plays; if he’s not, he doesn’t,” O’Donoghue said.
“But even if Piggy (Campbell) has had a quiet day, all year we have guys stand up, whether it is Daniel Schaper who kicked six last week, or Jak Trewin, we have a lot of firepower in our forward line.”
Around the grounds, Deniliquin Rams will be looking to solidify a spot in the top six when they travel to Barooga to face the Hawks.
Rumbalara and Tongala will do battle at Mercury Drive to complete the first half of the split round.
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