PREVIEW: MELBOURNE v SOUTHERN DISTRICTS

It’s the final round of regular fixtures in the Direct Connect #DewarShield, as the teams who have qualified for finals look to build momentum at the business end of the year.

The Unicorns have lost just once since Round Six, meaning that they head into this contest in rare form. They’ve secured fourth place on the table; they can’t finish higher or lower, and it’s outside their control whether they’ll travel to Harlequin or Melbourne Uni in the first week of finals.

In the interim, they need to make sure they get the job done against a Southern Districts side finishing the season impressively, with impressive wins in the past fortnight against Footscray and Power House.

“We are working on the little things to take into the finals,” Melbourne Head Coach Anare Koliavu said. “Southern Districts won’t be the same team we played in the first round; we will look to start strong, as we can’t afford to give them a sniff.

“They have been strong and beaten some good teams in the last couple of weeks; they will look to finish their year on a high and our boys need to stay focused and play our game.”

Souths’ Coach Paul Maihi is keen to show how far his team have progressed since being flogged 65-10 by Melbourne back in Round Nine.

“With one round to go, there’s no doubt in our minds that we’ll have to be at our utmost best if we want to upset a top four team,” Maihi said.

“They have superior structure and I expect their forward pack to try and dominate, however we are determined to finish our season on a high and look forward to the challenge.”

Source: Rebels Media Unit

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