Bumper clash between flag favourites at Gloucester Park

Augusta-Margaret River will be out for redemption in Saturday’s mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash against Bunbury at Gloucester Park. The Hawks had an afternoon to forget when both sides met at Payne Park back in round three, when a rampant Bulldogs outfit pumped them by 60 points. However, Hawks coach Matt Jamieson’s side is building nicely and enter the clash after a gritty five-point win over South Bunbury at Hands Oval. After their backs were against the wall in the first half, a number of leaders within the Hawks stood up and ensured the visitors returned home with another credible road win. “It was a huge effort defensively,” Jamieson said after the South Bunbury victory. “I thought we fumbled a little bit early and probably didn’t tackle great. I thought we still got a lot of the ball to move it but we just turned it over. “South just sort of sat off us a little bit — probably about 5m-10m and played on the turnovers a little bit. “And to their credit, they did that and made us pay, so at half-time we just needed to get that right. “The big thing we had to work on was ball use.”Have some care for the ball, find somebody in transition and lift our tackle intensity pressure. “Along with being harder for longer at the ground ball, because we knew they were a big side and we just had to grind away at it.” While the Hawks managed to go about their business in perfect conditions against the Tigers, Payne Park resembled a swimming pool for the Bulldogs a day later, when they managed to hold off a fast-finishing Busselton by three points. Given the pressure and conditions they were subjected to, the Magpies clash could have taken a fair bit out of the Bulldogs players, however, coach Jamie Nani will have ensured all players are cherry-ripe for their trip down south. With the mandated COVID-19 restrictions impacting the Perth and Peel regions, both sides will miss their travelling contingent of players.