ROUND five of the South West District Football League’s 2023 season will be played tomorrow, and this year’s campaign is beginning to take shape.

One side in particular will have something to play for this week, with Tyrendarra having given themselves a chance to push for early top-three contention after last week’s win over Heywood.

That win means they’re now 2-2 on the season, and with a matchup against Heathmere at Heathmere now in their sights, the Darras will be keen to make it two wins on the trot as they look to build towards the middle of the season.

Round four saw them field their strongest team to date, and with still more talent coming through the reserves they’re only going to get more dangerous as the season progresses.

While a 230-point drubbing at the hands of Cavendish might not give onlookers the sense that the Meres will put up much of a fight, from senior coach Adrian Hann on down they have made a commitment to fight out each and every quarter of every game this season, and no one should expect this game to be any different.

Heathmere will also look to welcome back a number of key players who were unavailable in their fixture against the Bloods.

Dartmoor v Westerns

Dartmoor will be out to make amends for last week’s loss to Coleraine when they host Westerns at Dartmoor Oval.

This will be the fourth game the Giants have played on their home turf in the first five rounds of the season, and they’ll look to continue to capitalise on this as they gear up for another monumental clash against Cavendish next week.

Still, they’ll want to keep their focus on the here and now as they look to defeat a Westerns team that remains without a win at this stage of the season.

This lack of wins is secondary for Westerns, and to this point they have remained competitive in every match to this point of the season.

Cavendish v Branxholme-Wallacedale

Fresh off a massive win against Heathmere, Cavendish will enter this match full of confidence as they look to continue to build momentum with a win at Branxholme over the Saints.

The Bloods have been fearsome since their round one defeat and are currently on a three-game winning streak which they put the exclamation point on last week.

However, the Saints will equally come into this game with plenty of confidence after their 86-point win over Westerns on the weekend.

They’ve done a solid job to this point of restricting the opposing team’s scoring, save for their round two loss to Coleraine, and will be striving to make the Bloods’ potent forward line work for every score.

Heywood v Coleraine

The Lions will consider themselves unlucky to be 1-3 to start the season, as they’ve suffered losses to premiership contenders Dartmoor, Cavendish and Tyrendarra by a combined 15 points.

Things aren’t going to get easier for Sammy Walsh-Bannam’s men this week as they take on a side which has proven to be the team to beat at this point in the season in Coleraine.

Last week’s second half fightback without one of their veteran leaders in Leon Davis will give Heywood belief that they’re capable of matching it with anyone so long as they can stay the course.

Meanwhile, the Maroons are riding high after dispatching Dartmoor last week and have now claimed top-spot with a game in hand on second.

Both teams present a real challenge for their opponents, and it should be an enthralling contest.