The last round before the June long weekend will see a number of sides trying to consolidate their place in the top five.
The AFL Sydney Match of the Week will be played at Village Green this weekend with UNSW/ES Bulldogs hosting the Pennant Hills Demons.
The Bulldogs suffered a shock 10-point loss last weekend against Western Suburbs Magpies at Henson Park.
The match was close throughout with the Bulldogs unable to get over the line despite the best efforts of Hayden Nichols and Joel Robbie. They still sit in third place behind five sides all on equal match ratio.
Pennant Hills have been rampant in the last fortnight albeit against the bottom two sides in the competition in Illawarra, and Sydney Hills Eagles last weekend- where they registered a 151-point victory.
Matthew Carey and Luke Bilbe helped themselves to seven goals apiece while Tom Angel and Nicholas Campbell were also impressive in the demolition job.
The task doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles who this week face second-placed North Shore at Bruce Purser Reserve.
The Eagles have been affected by player depth and were outclassed by the Demons. Aaron Savage and Lachlan Cox represent the younger brigade coming through who are vying for NEAFL honours.
North Shore also had a relatively easy win over Sydney University. They took their foot off the gas in the final quarter with the job well and truly done just after half-time.
Thomas McMahon was superb repelling off half-back in one of his better games for the club. Chris Murphy and Nick Todd were an experienced duo who played well, while Daniel Roberts extended his lead on top of the Stan Milton goalkicking race with another six goals to his name.
Campbelltown sit in ninth but boast a healthy percentage given their position. They are competitive but lack the killer punch. This was a case in point last weekend where they held a three-quarter time lead over UTS but conceded five goals to fall short by 23 points.
David Linsen played arguably his best game for the year for the Blues, while the duo of Alponse Jambarufo and Penisimeni Mahina entertained the crowd with their skills.
This weekend they have another winnable clash against Sydney University. The Students sit in that log-jam in the middle of the ladder and need to win these 50/50 games if they are to challenge for finals.
They will need to work on their ball movement as they blazed away at regularity and turned the ball over far too often against North Shore.
Manly started their giant-killing run in Premier Division against Balmain and will be looking to continue their amazing 36-game winning streak in first grade (including Division One) matches on Saturday at Weldon Oval.
Manly stifled the life from St George in a contested possession game at home last weekend. Eight goals for the Wolves was all that was needed to win, as they only conceded three goals.
Harrison Koch was again superb, while Calum Johnston’s star continues to rise.
Balmain notched up a rare win last weekend but were made to work especially in the first half by Illawarra. Five goals to one in the second half was their best defensive display of the year. Josh Cass in a defensive role on Ken Ewen-Chappell, and Selby Lee-Steere around the ground were best last week for the Dockers.
The final game on Saturday sees Western Suburbs take the trip down to Illawarra to face the Lions in a night fixture.
The Magpies will be buoyant after their best win in a number of years against the defending premiers at Henson Park.
Rory Miller was superb in a best-on-ground performance that yielded five goals. Brenton Mumme and Clinton McGrath were also prodigious.
Illawarra had their chances but failed when it came to the crunch against the Dockers. Jeremy Daniher was everywhere in the first quarter but his injury coincided with the Lions falling off the pace.
The experienced duo of Ken Ewen-Chappell and David Goodley will be called on again against the top-five aspirants.
The final game of the weekend could be the most tightly-fought between St George and UTS at Olds Park on Sunday afternoon.
St George were not able to play their own game by a hard-working Manly outfit after having their own way against Balmain. It was a valuable lesson that Terry Mudge will be instilling into his troops against another side strong in the contested side of the game.
UTS will be keen to keep their winning run going after a last-quarter burst sealed the points against Campbelltown. Tom Zilm and Jacob Prince were best for the victors.
This could be a season-defining game for both sides.
Last Modified on 30/05/2013 12:49
