Bomber Baldock out, with Swan Finlay sidelined
Dalby will need to play four quarters of footy if they are to knock off the top of the table South Toowoomba Bombers in the AFL Darling Downs women's Blackchrome Cup, match of the round.
This round 18 fixture will be the best opportunity to defeat the reigning premiers with star midfielder Isabelle Baldock unavailable for the match. Dalby and South Toowoomba are the two in-form teams of the competition and many are labelling this as a Grand-Final preview.
If it is the big day in September preview, then no doubt each side will want the bragging rights going into finals.
Each side boast impressive midfields, power forwards and hard running defenders. Swans forward duo Alison Gaur and Shaye Easton have combined for 60-goals this season with Gaur sitting on top of the Blackchrome Cup goal-kicking leader board. Easton and Gaur will prove to be handful for the Bombers defensive unit.
South Toowoomba boast a more even spread of goal-kickers and don't rely on any individual to kick big bags each week. With seven players in the double digits for goals kicked this season, the Swans will need to be accountable.
Eight of the competitions top ten goal-kickers play for either Dalby or South Toowoomba, so we should expect a shoot-out at Owen Street.
Georgie Seaniger and Chloe MacDonald will be important for the Bombers as per normal but Rebekah Rogers the forward-ruck player, unknown to many; however her club know the importance of her role for the Bombers women. Her vertical leap along with agility has her as one of the best ruck position players in the competition.
Rogers isn't the Bombers only secret weapon, players like Jessica Harvey, Savannah Ranford, Lauren Jericho are all important in their own right.
The Bombers have been criticised for their lack of defensive pressure earlier in the season but this is something South Toowoomba has fixed and if the Swans are to challenge the Bombers juggernaut they will need their next tier of players in full flight.
The likes of Shaye Easton, Danielle Wall and Alison Gaur have been the standouts for the Swans in their debut season.
Representative stars Jess Banks, Ally Hollis, Melissa Phillips and co will need to rise to the occasion, as this games intensity will be like none other. Queensland school-girls representative Jayne Finlay will be a massive loss for the Swans, with the state defender out with a hand injury.
Summary
This game looms as a massive encounter between two sides in terrific form. Both teams are missing stars (Baldock and Finlay) but have the troops to fill the void. Dalby have built somewhat of a fortress at Owen Street and the Swans will look to intimidate the Bombers from the first bounce.
It will be an old fashioned tussle, the eventual winner will come down to who wants the sherrin the most.
Where and when: Owen Street Oval - Dalby, Saturday 16th August 5:00pm
Last time they met
Rd 6, 2014 - South Toowoomba Bombers 5.8 (38) def. Dalby Swans 4.5 (29)
Last Modified on 20/08/2014 08:23
