There will be three wet weather catch-up matches played this weekend with all of the top five sides in action.
The pick of the matches is at Village Green with third-placed UNSW/ES taking on the current ladder leaders in Manly-Warringah.
Both sides have earmarked this game as a potential to test themselves against one another.
Manly Warringah snapped their two game losing streak with a methodical win over UTS by 41 points. In heavy conditions, they shared their goals and held the lead throughout.
Youngster, Tom McCaffrey earned a Rising Star nomination on the back of his performance where he was best afield. McCaffrey is a good size and his flexibility gives more options to coach Leigh Brain. Anthony Robertson and Tom Thurgarland are two other players who love Brain’s contested focus.
UNSW/ES could still easily finish top if results go their way. They are arguably not as good as last year, especially when you take out Dane Rampe but still have the makings of a side who can do damage at the business end of the year.
They had an easy run into this game with a 115 point smashing of a sorry Balmain outfit. Tom Heath roamed forward to kick five goals. Henry Mason has been their star recruit this year, while wily veteran Pete Kefalas is getting better with each game this year. Max Collett will be crucial to the result and will attract a tag to quell his influence on the outside.
An intriguing battle looms between Campbelltown and Pennant Hills at Monarch Oval. If you played this game a fortnight ago, you would put it in the book as a win for the Demons but such is the momentum Campbelltown has at the moment it could be a different story.
The Blues disposed of Sydney Hills with ease last week. Confidence is infectious and after their surprise win against North Shore they are eyeing another big scalp. Matthew Edwins and Amua Parika are the keys and kicked nine goals between them next week. David Linsen and Paul Green are the main inside and outside players respectively.
Pennant Hills were far from their best against Illawarra. They only led by a goal against the winless Lions at three quarter time before five goals to none in the final term got them home. The old firm of Kieran Wright and Alastair Richardson helped them through a sticky situation but they cannot afford another slip-up with their second spot on the line in a congested top five.
St George are flying at the moment and should get the four points against UTS at Olds Park this Saturday.
They had sixteen goal kickers against Sydney University, a potential finals challenger, last week. Blake Guthrie is arguably the most improved player in the competition and now demands respect as a ball winning midfielder. Nathan Kenny and one of the form big men of the competition in Jordan West also had strong games last week.
UTS had their moments but were playing catch-up from the outset against Manly. A scoreless first quarter cruelled their chances and consigned them to missing the finals this year in their last realistic shot.
The final game of the round sees Illawarra make the trip up the highway to Gore Hill Oval to play North Shore.
Both sides put out improved showings last week in true pressure tests.
Illawarra as noted ran out of legs but scared Pennant Hills with a five goal third term. Jacob Brookfield is a talented youngster and teamed well with Luke Rutter and Thomas Green.
North Shore put off their detractors for the time being with a 21 point win over Western Suburbs in a very important game for both sides. The Bombers wrestled back the lead in the second quarter and led from there on in.
Nick Todd and John Gray were best for the Bombers and they should again be on the winners list as they look to move up from fourth place.
Last Modified on 17/07/2013 18:00
