You couldn’t ask for a better end to the regular season with three sides battling for the minor premiership and the week off.
Two of those sides in Manly-Warringah Wolves and North Shore Bombers will face off in an eagerly anticipated local derby at Weldon Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The arch rivals will not only be competing for the Bendigo Bank Cup (both teams are sponsored by Bendigo Bank), but also for the right to be crowned minor premiers, with the victor likely to find themselves on top of the table at season’s end.
There is no shortage of interest in the match, with TV personality and host of Channel Seven’s Sunrise program, David Koch (Kochie), enlisted to present the Bendigo Bank Cup to the winners. The link is that Koch’s nephew, Harrison- who has had a stellar season himself, will be playing in the clash.
It is fair to say there is some feeling between the two outfits. There are a number of Manly players who have had playing history with North Shore, including Hayden Washington and Lachlan Kilpatrick who crossed over in the off-season, not to mention former Under 18 League Best & Fairest Anthony Robertson.
Both sides were impressive last week. Manly-Warringah proved their worth in their draw against St George away from home, while North Shore hung on for a famous one point win against defending premiers, UNSW/ES.
The Wolves were without arguably their best player in Tyrone Armitage who was overseas at a wedding in Fiji but is expected to be back in the side this week. Their defensive pressure was the highlight of their play against a near full-strength Dragons outfit.
They struggled somewhat to hit the scoreboard but their backline led by Daniel Pearson and Jack Lynch dominated most duels. Nathan Bosschieter played one of his better games for the club as well, while Angus Buncle and Kilpatrick got plenty of the ball.
They left their forward line very open often with Washington one-out deep with their press operating well. Connor Pettersson is in good touch after an extended period overseas, while Anthony Robertson was noticeable at times and kicked the most goals (four) in windy conditions.
North Shore took another step forward after a scrappy win against Sydney University the previous weekend. If they weren’t before, they have to be duly respected by opposition sides. They sit in the same position as last year, in top spot with a round to go. For their sake, they will be hoping for a different result this year to last year where they went out in straight sets.
It was an entertaining evening at Gore Hill, on the score board and also in the fact that the lights went out early in the last quarter. The match was close all day but the performance of one of the competitions best midfielders in Sam Carruthers ensured the result was a narrow win to the Bombers.
Tom McMahon was again superb down back. David Martin rates as one of the best ruckmen in the league when fully fit. Dale Fitzgerald and Charlie Callander returned from injury and made a noticeable difference to the Bombers’ structure.
Danny Roberts is in a dogfight with Western Suburbs’ Rory Miller for his first Stan Milton Medal. He will have a tough ask against the best defence in the league, with his duel pivotal to the result.
Whether Jack Davis and Jake Monk can get space on the outside will also be key to whether the Bombers can earn a week off in what is set to be a gruelling finals campaign.
Either way it is a battle which has been forty four years in the making and promises to be a beauty between the two nearest rivals north of the bridge. It could well be the biggest home and away crowd AFL Sydney has seen in recent years. If you can’t get to Weldon, make sure you are tuning into Digital Sports (www.youtube.com/aflsydneylive) from 2.10pm on Saturday.
There is another game almost just as important for both Pennant Hills and St George, for varying reasons, at Mike Kenny Oval.
Pennant Hills have hit a pretty big speed bump over the last few weeks after a nine-game winning streak. They cannot finish any higher than fourth and face an Elimination Final, most likely against UNSW/ES.
They were forced to work for their eight-point win against an undermanned Sydney University, after leading by a solitary point at three quarter time. The goal kicking exploits of Ranga Ediriwickrama (six goals) and the work rate of Damien Dell’Aquila saved the Demons from embarrassment against a side four wins behind them on the ladder.
With this said, they are currently missing Cameron Smith (suspension) and fellow walk up starters in Richardson, Widmer and Angel through injury. Star player, Matt Carey came back last week after an injury lay-off. They still loom as a dark horse.
This game is particularly significant for St George. They sit in third and dependant on the result of the Manly-North Shore clash, a good win on the scoreboard could see them earn the minor premiership and next week off.
It was hard to know whether they were lucky or unlucky against Manly given the topsy-turvy nature of their clash. After Dominic Killworth’s long bomb outside 50 to gain the lead late in the last you would’ve thought they would have had the momentum to close it out but it wasn’t to be.
Nick Ryan and Paul Sain caused big headaches for Manly with their contested marking ability. Below their knees they weren’t so clean. Running midfielders, Blake Guthrie and David Lycakis played more quarter-back roles last week and along with Jordan West were most effective for the Dragons.
The other main match with unlikely but possible finals implications is UNSW/ES who currently fifth hosting Sydney Hills Eagles at the Village Green.
The Bulldogs have shown better form in the last fortnight and were unlucky not to get the points against North Shore. Pleasing would have been the form of Adam Gulden and Josh Parmenter (four goals) last week coming into another finals campaign.
Hayden Nichols is a beauty and along with big men at either end in Tom Heath (back) and Henry Mason (forward) will be pivotal to their hopes in September. Matt Rawlinson is another who at his best is one of the top players in the competition.
Normally you would say it would be fait accompli for the Bulldogs but with the NEAFL season over the Eagles under the By-Laws they have the potential to drop a couple of top-line players back who played their last game.
Put it this way, it will be interesting to see who lines up for the Eagles as the club looks to end their season on a high.
Biting at the Bulldogs’ heels are Western Suburbs, who courtesy of their winning form in the back end of the season; could take UNSW/ES’ place if they slip up on Saturday.
They posted another big win which had the desired impact on their percentage against the Eagles. Rory Miller kicked nine to take the lead in the goal kicking race. Levi Sands and Matthew Lemme are their best two players and were strong in the win last week.
They take on UTS who have also had a good last few weeks to put some gloss on an otherwise disappointing year in the top grade.
The Bats had a comfortable win last week against the Balmain Dockers in Tom Steinfort’s 50th game for the victors.
They hope they can celebrate again and claim a good scalp to end their year.
Illawarra and Balmain will play for pride at North Dalton Park on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides have also had years to forget with Balmain registering three wins and Illawarra still winless heading into the final round. Illawarra have a chance but need to kick a winning score and hit the scoreboard with more regularity.
The final match of the home and away season will be played at Sydney University on Sunday between the Students and Campbelltown.
It should be an entertaining affair on the small ground between two attacking sides. Seventh place is on the line between two sides equal on wins (alongside UTS).
Campbelltown had a comfortable 40-point win in their Pink Ladies Day clash against Illawarra, while the Students were somewhat stiff not to knock off Pennant Hills.
Expect a shoot out in this one, but most eyes will be on the mobile phones and ladder on Saturday evening when the results (and final percentages) will determine the make-up for week one of the finals.
Last Modified on 22/08/2013 12:53
