Our first game is out in the Eagles nest in Narrabri against the league leaders the Tamworth Kangaroos. The Eagles have dropped off of late losing their last 3 games and now find themselves in fifth place a game behind the Bulldogs and Saints. If they want any hope of hosting a final come finals time they need to win this game. The Kangaroos do have a one game and 16.5% buffer at the top of the ladder but they will not want to rest on their laurels here. Kangaroos Coach Tim Cotter has not played since he injured his elbow in round 7 against the Nomads. There has been a little trouble tracking down just exactly what is wrong and hopefully he is now on the mend as his team needs him come finals time. Their other star that they will need back come finals time is Dan Overeem. Overeem injured his ankle against the Eagles in round 4 and has only just started to jog on it so he is probably still a long way off yet. The Eagles are having their best year ever and is it just reward for club stalwarts like Shane Murphy, Duane Shawcross, Mark Barrow and Daniel Budge. But they know the job is not done yet and would like to restart their season here with a win over the Kangaroos.
Prediction: Even with their injures I just can't go past the league leaders and the Kangaroos will win by 19 points.
The second game sees the Swans host the Cats at Tamworth's No.1 Oval. The Swans will be desperate to win this game as they were the team to break the Cats 48 game losing streak in round 4. Swans' Coach, Gary Harriott, knows that they can't make the finals but will continue to push his team so they will hopefully upset teams above them before the end of the season. Cat's Coach, Bryce O'Connor, couldn't be happier with team this year I reckon. They have had their first win in years have a good group of kids and if they can keep it all together they will be on the rise again next year. The disappointing thing for him is the loss of some of his more experienced players before the cut off for clearances earlier in the year. The Swans played some very good footy against the Saints back in round 9 and backed that up last week in Narrabri against the Eagles.
Prediction: I think the Swans will for the first time this year win back to back games and beat the Cats by 26 points.
The last game is at Varley Oval in Inverell where the Saints will be waiting for the New England Nomads. The Nomads beat the Saints for the first time in 5 years when they last met but that was in Armidale. The once impregnable Varley Oval was breached by the Kangaroos earlier in the year and the Saints have improved since then. This really is a block buster as if the Saints win they will be equal with the Nomads in second place. The Nomads have been building all year, but have been a bit hit and miss on the road. They have been beaten by the Eagles and the Bulldogs and beat the Swans and Cats. This will be their acid test to see if they can take the next step. For the Saints it is also their acid test because if they want to go deep into the finals they need to beat a quality team and that is what the Nomads are. Nick Baird has had his Saints building all year and there is no reason why can't continue that build here. Brendan Meehan has the forward line that the rest of the competition drools over. With Dave Richards, Weston Whitby and Hamish Ross the Saints backline will have its work cut out for it. Captain Chris Whitton has just got better and better for the Saints this year and is on fire at the moment up forward and is currently 4th on the league goal kicking ladder. A problem for the Saints will be loss of Fullback come Full forward Bruce Wall with a hamstring injury. While he hasn't set the world on fire he has done exactly what Baird has wanted and straightened up the forward line and given it structure and they will miss that.
Prediction: I really am not sure which way to go here. I think I will have to go for the Nomads by 1 point because they have a better forward set up. I will not be surprised if the Saints win though and look forward to watching this game from one of the best seats in the house, behind the goals.
The Bulldogs have the bye this week.
Last Modified on 26/07/2011 21:33