The top four sides all saluted last weekend with wins in the AFL Sydney Premier Division competition but all bar Pennant Hills were pushed all the way.
Pennant Hills vs Western Suburbs
The headline match of this weekend will feature the second-placed Demons and Western Suburbs who are one place down on the standings.
Pennant Hills like recent seasons are chugging along nicely without yet reaching top gear.
Their offensive arsenal is arguably not as great as previous years yet they have numerous avenues to goal. Sam Zikman has been prominent in the goal kicking statistics in recent times, and also impressive is the ability of midfielders such as Alex Goodall and James Dunn to go forward and kick goals like they did last week against North Shore.
The Demons will be tested further than their 10-goal win last week against North Shore against a Magpies side hell-bent on returning to the finals race this year.
This looks all but a formality after an impressive start to the season and they returned to the winners list with a 25-point win away to Campbelltown.
With this said, they trailed by a straight kick at three-quarter time with a strong final quarter getting them out of gaol.
The addition of experienced recruits Leigh Conway and Lindsay Scown helped last weekend, as they have throughout this season.
Taylor Williamson is a focal point in attack and kicked four goals last weekend. Their rebound in defence is also a strength this season through the likes of Conway, Matthew Round and Levi Sands.
The home ground advantage may well work in Pennant Hills favour this time around but Magpies’ coach, Kevin Eynaud will have had a lot of experience at Mike Kenny Oval having previously coached the Demons.
Danny’s Prediction: Pennant Hills by 11 points
Campbelltown v Sydney University
Despite losing last weekend there were plenty of positives for both these sides ahead of their clash at Monarch Oval.
As mentioned, Campbelltown had the ability to run away with a win after leading at three of the breaks against the Magpies. Matthew Edwins was superb in a lone hand up forward with five goals. I am sure Neil Brunton would love to run him through the midfield more often such is his ability to use the ball but he has a great knack around goals.
Taran Etto continued his stellar and arguably breakout season in the senior grade with another strong showing in the midfield. The Campbelltown faithful will be looking at Josh Van Luenen to continue his growth given his prodigious talent.
Sydney University were in somewhat of a similar position to the Blues having all the momentum at three-quarter time, trailing the unbeaten Manly-Warringah GIANTS by 3 points, only to go scoreless in a tense final quarter.
The Students after a slow start played quite the structured match in what could have well been a shoot-out. It was anything but as contested ball became the order of the day.
They might not see much more of Sam Sleigh as his near-best on ground performance will surely result in a recall to the NEAFL side. One of the more experienced campaigners in the side, Jack Caspersonn was also prominent in defence, while Glenn Smith grew a leg in the ruck despite giving away heigh to his opponent.
Coach Anton Turco would also be tickled pink by the performance of this week’s Rising Star, Lachlan Maples against the ladder leaders.
A lot to like last week but then again a week is a long time in football.
Danny’s Prediction: Sydney University by 20 points
Sydney Hills Eagles v North Shore
This match is unlikely to have much bearing on the finals race but it looms as the most intriguing of the weekend lineup.
You have on one hand a depleted North Shore outfit and on the other an up-and-down Eagles outfit who seem to grow a leg when playing at home.
North Shore were competitive against the side who knocked them out in a thriller in last year’s Semi Final in Pennant Hills but lacked the ability to hit the scoreboard.
Matt Adamson was again best for the Bombers amongst a list of unlikely players who have been required to fill a noticeable void.
Sydney Hills went down by ten goals against UNSW/ES last week in a result that probably didn’t do them justice as they were within distance going down the straight.
Aaron Drinkwater led the way again for the bottom-placed Eagles alongside the experienced Damian Charleston and Mark Skuse.
A battered opponent awaits them as they seek their second win of the 2014 campaign.
Danny’s Prediction: Sydney Hills by 12 points
Manly-Warringah v St George
Another interesting match-up in a good weekend of Premier Division action will be played out at Weldon Oval between the first and fourth-placed sides on the ladder.
The GIANTS struggled on the smaller Sydney University deck last weekend but their class eventually shone through when it counted.
They lacked some composure going forward and without Brayden Fowler’s five goals, there was no multiple goal scorer for the beach boys.
Gareth Benbow sneaks under the guard of opposition sides but he is a general down back and uses the ball well, as does Jordan Weir.
St George had an inconsistent performance against UTS and will need to be much better to push the top side on their home patch where they have a formidable record.
The 23 point final result was fairly equivalent to the lead the Dragons enjoyed for much of the second half.
Kudos to Terry Mudge for blooding a number of youngsters who have performed. In saying that, it was the representative duo of Alex Wynn (five goals) and Karl Merson (four) who pulled the Dragons through a tricky contest.
Wynn is a reliable foil for Nick Ryan who will be a focus of Leigh Brain this week. Harrison Koch may well get the job on the star forward.
The interesting sub-plot is that the Magpies and Dragons are fighting for the all-important third place and double chance in what otherwise appears to be a pretty set top five, hence the extra importance of these games for both sides where they will start underdogs.
Danny’s Prediction: Manly-Warringah by 33 points
UNSW/ES v UTS
The final match of the weekend will be televised courtesy of Digital Sports on Sunday afternoon from Village Green.
UTS will be looking to even the ledger after they went down by 3 points in a last-quarter capitulation in Round 1 to the hands of their opponents for this weekend.
There is always a little bit of extra spice in these games given both sides co-habitate the Eastern Suburbs and from what I hear just don’t really like one another.
Both sides sit outside finals calculations at the moment but can make a Steven Bradbury run at fifth with a win this weekend.
The Bulldogs regained spiritual leader Peter Kefalas last weekend and the boys celebrated his return with a strong win over the Eagles at home.
Swingman, James Pascoe kicked five goals for the victors as Hayden Nichols starts to hit his straps after a late start to the season.
UTS pushed St George all the way but couldn’t get the biscuits in a free-flowing game at Waverley Oval.
Kaizaad Mehta bumped Tom Zilm out of the Team of the Week with a dominant showing for the Bats, while Justin Kenna and Damon Collina also starred.
Danny’s Prediction: UNSW/ES by 15 points
Last Modified on 27/06/2014 09:32
