Match One: New England Nomads v Muswellbrook Cats at Bellevue Oval
The first match of the weekend sees two teams desperate for a win for vastly contrasting reasons, with the Nomads keen to record victory to stay in the hunt for top spot, while the Cats need to stay in touch with the top 4. Every game this weekend will see a top 3 side take on a bottom 3 side, and each game is important in the make up of the ladder come Saturday night.
The Nomads may well feel like making a famous WWE proclamation this weekend: Finally the Nomads Come Back …….. to Bellevue!!! It’s been almost two months since they last played a game at home, and after suffering just two losses in that time, they have staked their claim for Premiership favouritism, They are coming off a week off following a rained out affair last weekend. They will be fresh, but need a good hit out as they will have another week off in the near future. Coach Tom Granleese will be keen to keep his men tuned up for the run home, and a clinical display this weekend will be just what his calls for. It’s hard to see the Cats getting a win here, but they have a dogged, determined attitude in these games and won’t go down lightly. They were unlucky in defeat last weekend, and gave themselves every chance of getting a morale-boosting win. Their window for sneaking into the top 4 is closing every week, and they cannot afford to suffer a bad loss this weekend. Another rout will surely end their finals chances, so there’s plenty to play for.
TAFL Tipster – The Nomads are way too strong at home, and will win by 100 points.
Match Two: Gunnedah Bulldogs v Inverell Saints at Leitch Oval (Narrabri)
The TAFL returns to Narrabri this weekend as the Bulldogs have transferred their home game to Leitch Oval. They will head back into town riding a wave of confidence following their win in Muswellbrook last weekend, and have established themselves as a real force in this season’s competition. They must win here though to hold onto that spot in the top 4, but have the team to push the Saints who don’t traditionally enjoy the smaller fields in the area. Errol Lather would be pleased with the progress of his troops over the season, and the recent return of Scott Hardy has bolstered his midfield ranks. They have shown they have the ability to knock off the top teams, after taking down the Nomads and then almost repeating that feat a fortnight later. The Saints will be stinging following their latest loss to the Roos at home. It was the first time they were beaten at Varley this year, and the Roos remain the only visiting team to win in the Sapphire City in the past 3 seasons. Jason Gobbert’s men gave up a 5 goal half time lead, and were outplayed in that 50 minutes of footy. It is pretty rare for them to produce two poor efforts in a row and they will be fired up this weekend. The only question is whether or not they can harness that to produce a better effort here. A loss will probably see them drop to 3rd on the ladder and giving up a second chance in the finals, and that should be motivation enough.
TAFL Tipster – The Saints need this win way too much to be complacent and should win by 3 goals.
Match Three: Tamworth Swans v Tamworth Kangaroos at Number One Oval
Twilight Match Start at 4pm!
The match of the round is the third instalment of the 2012 Billy Holder Cup. These two clubs have a rich history of rivalry and have produced some cracking matches this year alone. The Swans will be still stewing form their loss when they last met, after they dominated the first half only to see the Roos come running over the top of them late. The window of opportunity is fast closing for the Swans to reach the finals this year and they would love nothing more than getting their campaign back on track with a win over their arch-rivals. The Roos on the other hand have timed their run towards the finals with perfection this year. They suffered the effects of injuries and player unavailability early in the season, but have rattled home over the past 8 weeks. They have lost just once in that time, a close 1 point loss to the Nomads. Last week they rallied from 5 goals down at the half to beat the Saints in Inverell, the first such team to do so this season. They are the form team of the competition right now, and Tim Cotter has his team firing on all cylinders. They have adapted their game plan to cater for a lack of height around the ground and rival teams are struggling to stop their run and carry. They will be very hard to beat in this clash, and will not give it up easily.
TAFL Tipster – The Roos are just going too well to tip against, and will win by 39 points.
Last Modified on 18/07/2012 21:05