CASTLEMAINE is building up for what it’s treating today as its Bendigo Football League grand final for season 2010.
The Magpies will finish on the bottom of the ladder this year for the first time since 1985.
The question though is whether they will be last with or without a win next to their name come the end of round 18.
Entering round 17 today the Magpies are still winless, with their last victory remaining a 27-point triumph over Sandhurst in round 14 last year.
The Magpies today host Gisborne at Camp Reserve in what shapes as Castlemaine’s last realistic chance of getting a win on the board this year.
Awaiting the Magpies next week is a daunting trip to the Queen Elizabeth Oval to take on South Bendigo – a team that is likely to be carrying a 16-game winning streak into that match and beat Castlemaine by 135 points in their first meeting this year.
While the Magpies have struggled this season, Gisborne – which will this year miss its first finals series since 2001 – isn’t travelling much better.
The Bulldogs sit in ninth position with three wins – the last of which was a 25-point victory over Castlemaine on May 29.
Plus there’s the fact the Bulldogs have become the West Coast Eagles of the BFL – they can’t win away from their home ground.
Gisborne’s last 12 games away from Gardiner Reserve have resulted in 12 defeats by an average of 66 points.
But Magpies coach Paul Eyles knows that if his side is to finally achieve that long-awaited win today, it can’t afford to turn up with the same attitude that it had against Kangaroo Flat last week.
Eyles had travelled to Dower Park last week with genuine optimism that his Magpies could be competitive with the sixth-placed Roos.
Instead, they were already 12 goals to three down at half-time, before losing by 130 points.
“It has been one of those years where wherever we’ve turned, we’ve had injuries or things just haven’t gone right,’’ Eyles said yesterday. “We’ve played a lot of young guys, which has been a positive out of it, and with this match against Gisborne, obviously, we’re going to be doing our best to have a win.
“I’ve really put it on the players this week... they all know that in the 151-year history of Castlemaine, I don’t think there has been a side that has gone through a season without winning a game.
“In saying that, we’ve had a lot of injuries this year, but I don’t want to be part of a team that has to put its name to not winning a game, so this is our grand final.’’
While the Magpies were on the end of a massive hiding last week by Kangaroo Flat, Kyneton showed Castlemaine in round 11 that things can turn around in the space of a week.
In round 10 Kyneton kicked just one goal in a 199-point loss to South Bendigo at the QEO.
However, the following week the Tigers rebounded to beat Castlemaine by 25 points.
“I thought Kangaroo Flat was a side we could have beaten, so it was very disappointing last week,’’ Eyles said.
“The effort we put in just wasn’t good enough at all. The players have been told what they served up wasn’t acceptable, so we’re looking for a total turnaround in effort this week.
“We’re confident we can win the game on Saturday, but we’re not going to win if we go in with the same preparation and attitude that we took into the Kangaroo Flat game.’’
One of the key stumbling blocks for the Magpies today will be Gisborne star Luke Saunders, who returned from a hamstring injury last week.
Rhys Ford will get the first crack at opposing the four-time Gisborne premiership player.
“Saunders is just one of those Gary Ablett-type players who is so hard to stop, so we have to make sure we keep the pressure on him and don’t give him any room,’’ Eyles said.
Among the inclusions for the Magpies today is John Watson, who will become the club’s 11th under-18 player to play seniors this year.
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