Four rounds remain in the AFL Sydney competition and still we are no closer to determining who will be the leading side at the end of the home and away season.
Either North Shore or Pennant Hills can take a big step towards sealing the minor premiership when they face off at Gore Hill Oval. This match shapes as the biggest of the year to date.
Both sides have had varying fortunes in recent times, with Pennant Hills recently on a rollicking run of nine straight wins and North Shore struggling until late with injuries but have won their last three.
North Shore had to come from behind to keep their minor premiership hopes alive with a four-point win over bogey side UTS. Two of their most important players in Sam Carruthers and Doug Hadden had strong games, while Daniel Roberts kicked five goals in the win.
Jared Shattock has been reasonably quiet in the last month and is a pivotal player in the midfield.
Pennant Hills on the other hand featured in an entertaining affair against the struggling Balmain. They were two goals to the good at half-time before kicking eleven goals to four in the second half.
Ranga Ediriwickrama is the most electric player in the competition and will require a lot of attention from Jon Hayres and his coaching staff. Aaron Crisfield adds grunt to the midfield, while the forward line of Bilbe, Campbell and Richardson alongside Ediriwickrama is potent on their day.
North Shore won their last clash way back in Round 1 by 27 points but that won’t stop Pennant Hills starting favourites in the Bombers’ Back to Bears Day.
An unusual pre-noon start will greet Sydney Hills and Manly Warringah at Bruce Purser Reserve on Saturday.
The Eagles have lost four in a row but had their moments against Sydney University. Saying this, it is hard to find a side who butchered the ball as much as the Eagles did last week. They struggled to link up and hit basic targets on the small Sydney Uni deck. Hopefully they learn and control the ball better against a classier outfit in the Wolves.
Manly are eyeing the minor premiership after holding first place for most of the season. They currently sit second on percentage, which got a boost with their 96-point win over Illawarra last weekend.
Hayden Washington (this round’s Rising Star) and small forward, Tyrone Armitage bagged eleven goals between them. Jack Lynch and Lachlan Kilpatrick have gone under the radar this year but both were prominent against the Lions and are important to their chances in September.
Sydney University have very much an outside chance of making the finals and will have their work cut out keeping their hopes alive against UTS at Waverley Oval.
The Students won last week against the Eagles with twenty-two goals in thirty-six scoring shots. Jack Caspersonn showed his worth off half-back whilst Jethro Braico and James Howard were prominent as livewires around the ground.
UTS were stiff not to knock off North Shore again at Waverley Oval. If they put out a similar effort each week, their season would be a completely different story but one has to question why they are sitting in the position they are this year with no chance of making the finals.
The final game on Saturday sees Illawarra host a night match against St George. The Lions have little hope with the Dragons very much in form.
The red and whites were dominant after half-time in their win against UNSW/ES away from home. Daniel Cox (pictured) in his second game for the year was electric and was one of the best players for Northern Territory in the recent Under 18 National Championships. Throw him at the feet of big men Jordan West and Paul Sain and you have a pretty dangerous mix.
On Sunday, the AFL Sydney Match of the Week courtesy of Digital Sports is between UNSW/ES and Campbelltown at Village Green.
Campbelltown sit in ninth but have a positive for and against percentage. Double that with the fact they easily knocked off Western Suburbs by eight goals and it is a real danger game for UNSW/ES.
Neil Brunton is really rubbing off on his young side and you can tell they are playing with real belief. Matthew Edwins is a gun at this level and kicked five goals in a best on ground display at Monarch Oval last week. Bryce Joynson and Taran Etto are others who have been dominant in Campbelltown’s surge in the last month.
UNSW/ES are smarting after a disappointing loss to St George last week. They failed to fire a shot after half time and sit one game behind the top four with an Elimination Final berth likely at this stage.
They will be disappointed to have conceded thirty scoring shots versus the Dragons such is their emphasis on defensive pressure. Hayden Nichols and Joel Robbie have been serviceable for the Bulldogs but they need the clichéd team effort in what is a much more even competition this year.
The final game of the weekend is between Western Suburbs and Balmain at Henson Park. The Magpies are three games behind the fifth-placed Bulldogs and did themselves no favours by losing to Campbelltown.
Balmain themselves are no hope of replicating their Grand Final appearance last year. They were good to half-time against the form side in Pennant Hills but like a number of their games this year, ran out of gas and couldn’t keep up with the Demons.
Last Modified on 01/08/2013 11:30
