The Premier Division Finals will enter their second week with Semi Finals to be played across both days of the weekend at Blacktown International Sports Park.
Second Semi Final
Saturday- Blacktown International Sports Park
Premier Division- UNSW/ES Bulldogs vs Pennant Hills Demons @ 3.15pm
See tomorrow’s full preview.
Division One- Manly-Warringah Wolves vs Southern Power @ 1.00pm
The two best sides of the regular season will battle it out for a stream-lined passage to the Grand Final on Saturday afternoon.
Manly-Warringah went through the season undefeated and are at near-unbackable odds to make it two premierships in a row. They earned the week off after an 89-point demolition against fellow-finalists UTS. They possess the best forward in Division One in David Kovacevic and arguably the best player in Connor Pettersson. Throw in Tryone Armitage and they would trouble a few Premier Division outfits. Leigh Brain is a top-line coach and his biggest task may be to ensure his side isn’t complacent at the business end of the season.
Southern Power have got the closest to knocking the Wolves off but have found it hard to match it with them over four quarters. In last week’s Qualifying Final, they trailed at quarter-time but quickly jumped into gear to defeat Holroyd-Parramatta. Their spread of goalkickers was impressive, as was the performances of Graham Enright and Liam Davis. They will miss ruckman, Andrew Craig through a one-week suspension. Keeping the ball away from the Wolves will be of prime importance if they are to have a chance of causing a boil-over.
Under 18 Division One- Sydney Hills Eagles vs Illawarra Lions @ 11.00am
Do yourself a favour and get out early to watch the next breed of talent coming through the ranks. The match promises to be a beauty despite the Eagles’ undefeated record. The two sides played out an exciting draw in Round 12.
The Eagles will still start favourites and have the ingredients of a great under-age side. A case in point is key forward, Jake Famularo who just missed out on 100 goals in a regular season- including twelve against Western Suburbs in the last week before the finals. Mitchell Stevens and Malen Watson are also players of the future.
Illawarra have their own paddock of stars that will bring smiles and hope to the faithful down south. They have won their last two matches by an average of 56 points. One of these matches was the Qualifying Final where they broke away from Sydney University after quarter-time. Joel Sutherland is an exciting prodigy, while Harry Dobson has been racking up possessions and no doubt, votes in the centre this season.
Under 18 Division Two- Southern Power vs Manly-Warringah Wolves @ 9.00am
Southern Power finished atop the Under 18 Division Two ladder but will be underdone having not played for three weeks. Coincidentally their last match was against their opponents for this weekend- in which they won by 49 points. The two Liam’s- Pollard and Hamling, were damaging in that match and will be important on the wide expanses of Blacktown.
The Wolves were tested by Balmain last weekend in the Qualifying Final but came through with flying colours after keeping their opponents scoreless in the last term en route to a six goal win. Jack Parker and James Behagg will be crucial to their chances against the competition front-runners.
First Semi Final
Sunday- Blacktown International Sports Park
Premier Division- North Shore Bombers vs Balmain Dockers @ 3.15pm
See tomorrow’s full preview.
Division One- Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas vs UTS Bats @ 1.00pm
Holroyd-Parramatta will start favourites but will need to wary of a Bats outfit that was very impressive last weekend.
The Goannas led at quarter-time but struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities from there on in. Bryce Mayne continued his strong season and is a headline player for the Goannas. They need more from their middle-tier if they are to win this weekend. Jordan Pidgeon is one of the best juniors to come out of the club in recent times and adds an excitement factor to a side that plays an accountable brand of football under Shane Jorgensen.
UTS were always in relative control against Penrith in their Elimination Final clash last week. They have a bolstered squad with a number of Premier Division-experienced players adding the necessary polish to get the Bats over the line in a good contest. Fredrick Deegan and Leigh Meyrick were impressive in the win, while Sam Kinross is an X-factor in the ruck.
Under 18 Division One- Sydney University vs St George Dragons @ 11.00am
Sydney University face the possibility of bowing out in straight sets against an ever-improving St George side.
University were unable to keep up with Illawarra last week. A four-goal-to-none second quarter cruelled their chances. Jethro Braico was again best and will be called upon again to help secure their place in the Preliminary Final. Calvin Goessler has also been strong in the last fortnight.
St George was like an old Rolls-Royce last weekend. They were slow and wasteful early but were good to watch once they kicked into gear. They will need to step it up again this weekend again but have great upside with Dean Gilbert and Ben Hodgson among a bunch of impressive young leaders at the club.
Under 18 Division Two- Balmain Dockers vs Macquarie University Warriors @ 9.00am
Balmain need to rediscover that winning feeling after two successive losses. They were in with a shot last week against Manly-Warringah before a scoreless final quarter derailed their chances. Eden Woodend and Alastaire Duell-Ferguson will be important for the Dockers in booking a Preliminary Final berth.
Macquarie University won an entertaining affair against Nor-West last weekend. They were good front-runners and sealed the win with a seven goal to three final quarter. Thomas King and Oliver Jackson were prominent in the win, as was Jackson Brackin who kicked four goals up forward.
Last Modified on 05/09/2012 16:06
