SWFL 2022: Eaton Boomers face virtual elimination final on Sunday against Busselton

If the Eaton Boomers are unable to defeat Busselton on Sunday afternoon at Glen Huon Reserve, their hopes of playing finals would almost be over.

Sitting a half game behind the Harvey Bulls and Donnybrook in seventh, a loss on Sunday against the Magpies would mean Darren Rigby’s men would need a lot of help on the final day of the season.

Aside from requiring the Bulls and Dons to drop games against Busselton and Carey Park, respectively, the Boomers would need to defeat Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault convincingly.

But Rigby is an optimistic coach, who is only concerned about backing in his players to do what they can control — and Sunday’s assignment is no different.

“It was a win in a close game where we were inaccurate again,” he said. “It does get you up and about a little bit and hopefully we can maintain the momentum from it and pinch the win this weekend against Busso.

“And who knows from there?

“We have spoken about Busso’s style of play, along with how we can combat it. But we do — and always have at least while I have been there —always stuck to our guns so to speak, by playing our game style and sticking to our game plan as best as we can.

“So these are the things we will be concentrating on.”

Another man keen for the good times to keep rolling is Busselton coach Daniel Delaney, who was delighted with his side’s 118-point win over the Collie Eagles last Saturday at home, with Liam Creighton setting the black and white faithful alight with his scintillating performance.

Acutely aware of how the Boomers’ flair can result in electric purple patches, Delaney will be instructing his players to not allow the home side to linger in the contest.

“We rate Eaton, don’t you worry about that,” Delaney said. “When we played them at home, we had a pretty handy game but they were missing a couple of their stars.

“We are really mindful, because it is the old adage — going into the finals, they have got to win to give themselves any chance.”