Manly-Warringah proved that they are still the team to beat in a weekend where fifth place is now well and truly a race between five teams. Only one side in Sydney Hills are out of finals contention with less than two months of the regular season to go.
The other sub-plots include a battle for third and fourth between two sides facing off this weekend in St George and Western Suburbs.
That is where we will start our preview.
St George are the form team of the competition having won their last seven matches on the trot. Last weekend could go down as the ugliest of those seven with the end 42-point margin flattering the Dragons in their win over North Shore.
The match more resembled a rugby maul with neither side able to get much by way of space or penetration through the defensive structures of their opposition.
Again the Dragons’ youth showed the way. Dean Gilbert quietly goes about his business in the middle while Daniel Tomlins is a star of the future and is hard to miss with his long locks.
Nick Ryan kicked five goals but hardly got his own way predominantly against veteran defender, Ron Wason. Ben Jones and Tom Green add steel to the midfield and were both industrious last weekend.
Captain, David Lycakis will be in doubt after being injured early last weekend in a heavy tackle.
Western Suburbs will go in as underdogs away from home having been below their best of late.
They took time to get going against Sydney Hills. They trailed the bottom-placed Eagles at quarter time but sewed up the match with a twelve-goal-to-three second half.
Skipper, Brenton Mumme led the way across half-forward with five goals in a best on ground display. Lindsay Scown will be one of the most important players in the midfield.
Michael Milner is likely to get the job on star forward, Taylor Williamson.
Clinton McGrath and Marcus Linsen are two who can get under the guard of the Dragons given the heavy focus that Terry Mudge will give to Matthew Round and Leigh Conway.
With St George a game ahead of Wests, a win will almost assure an all-important double chance in what is a must-win game for the Magpies.
Danny’s Prediction: St George by 14 points
North Shore v Campbelltown
Two of the contenders for fifth place face off at Gore Hill Oval, both locked on 16 competition points.
North Shore won a few more admirers on Saturday in the face of a form side in St George. They boast the second worst attack in the competition and already missing Daniel Roberts, they lost young key forward Daniel Schacher last weekend to injury.
The forward line might resemble a patchwork quilt this weekend but they will go into the clash having beaten Campbelltown by 3 points in their previous encounter.
Always in touch till the final five minutes, the Bombers were well-served last weekend by Selby Lee-Steere who was everywhere. Lachlan Hayres is a classy player and is being nursed back after a history of hamstring injuries. Despite not having the height to be a key forward, he has the ability to break a game open.
Campbelltown kept their finals ambitions alive with a narrow four-point win over UTS at home.
A slightly tougher prospect awaits them this week given North Shore are a more seasoned outfit away from home.
With that said, Campbelltown’s form of late is much improved. Paul Green after being mentioned last week as an important player for the back-half of their season delivered with a best on ground display.
Nathan Lomas continued his strong form and will play a key role down back.
They have the potential to continue improving and with a sniff of finals, could well take the next step.
Danny’s Prediction: Campbelltown by 10 points
Manly-Warringah v UNSW/ES
Manly-Warringah took a big step towards securing their second successive minor premiership with a 10-point win over a gallant Pennant Hills in a top-of-table blockbuster last weekend.
They return to Weldon Oval this weekend and will be hellbent on getting back to a winning record at home.
Ryan Wearne was superb for the GIANTS as were perennial suspects Tyrone Armitage and James Brain.
David Stroud plays an important role for the ladder leaders in defence and is a great ball-user in a rebounding role.
Down the other end of the ground, you wouldn’t call it a rut, but Brayden Fowler has only managed two goals in the last fortnight. Alex Henderson will probably get the job on him again and did a serviceable job on the linchpin in their previous encounter.
Further to that, the Bulldogs tactics were quite sound against the GIANTS in terms of limiting outside ball use. Expect them to try and replicate that bottleneck ploy.
The Bulldogs continued their resurgence last weekend with one of their better recent victories against Sydney University at home.
Tom Williamson played arguably his best game for the club while the Kiel brothers were both dominant- Ed in the middle, and Jeremy with four goals.
It will take a big effort to stop the Manly juggernaut given their renewed confidence gained from a return to the winners list.
Danny’s Prediction: Manly-Warringah by 33 points
UTS v Pennant Hills
A potential danger game for Pennant Hills looms with UTS looking to rebound at their favoured Waverley Oval home.
As mentioned, both sides are coming off narrow losses.
UTS only lost one quarter (the second by four goals) yet lost the match against Campbelltown on a ground they would be unaccustomed to given the size of Monarch Oval.
Josh Maddox continued his good year with a strong performance for the Bats, while Nic Kerber has been noticeable in the last couple of weeks.
They can be prone to having a leaky defence, averaging over 90 points conceded per game- the second worst in the competition.
While their opponents are not quite as damaging in attack as last year, they do have plenty of avenues to goal.
Tim Scoular has been a recent re-inclusion after time away and adds to a potent forward line of Matt Carey, Ranga Ediriwickrama and the experienced, Sam Zikman.
In the midfield, Alex Goodall is in career best form and would be one of the main pollers again in this year’s Phelan Medal.
Lloyd Shepherd was superb last week on Fowler and may get the job on Michael May.
Danny’s Prediction: Pennant Hills by 28 points
Sydney University v Sydney Hills Eagles
These two rivals will round out the weekend of Premier Division action at Sydney University Oval.
The wheels have fallen off for the Students after seemingly locking away a finals berth with a strong start to the season.
As may have been anticipated, injury and depth has come to the fore requiring their better players to step up to play in the NEAFL.
Aron Everett and the returning Ben Taggart were two of the better Sydney University players in their disappointing loss to UNSW/ES.
They now face a dogfight to retain fifth.
They should keep the barkers at bay for now given they are playing the bottom-placed side, a side that conceded 106 points on average a game.
In contrast University boast the third best defence in the League.
The Eagles will look to Cameron Arndt and Aaron Drinkwater to win a lot of the ball, with Josh and Jesse Cass also capable at this level.
Danny’s Prediction: Sydney University by 22 points
Last Modified on 11/07/2014 08:39
