UTS Bats
2014 finish: 10th
2015 Home (H) and Away (A) schedule: HAAHHAHAHHAHAHAAHA
Pencil It In: Outside of Ladies Day which is always a must, pencil in the Round 1 against arch-rivals UNSW/ES at Henson Park under lights in one of two night matches for the Bats this season. This match will launch the 2015 BLK AFL Sydney season and will be one not to miss.
What We Say: A new era for the Bats under Nic Fosdike starts with two winnable games against UNSW/ES and Campbelltown. Again this year the Bats will divide their time between Trumper and Waverley Ovals. Their toughest stretch should come in May (Rounds 5-7) where they face three sides from last years finals series who should be starting to hit their straps- Manly-Warringah, Western Suburbs and Pennant Hills. Thankfully for them they will have two weeks to rest up after this to set themselves for winnable games which could determine whether they are finals bound for the first time since joining Premier Division. Three of their final four games are away from home. With this said, it isn’t a draw with too many gremlins.
East Coast Eagles
2014 finish: 9th
2015 Home (H) and Away (A) schedule: HAHAHHAAHAHAHAAHAH
Pencil It In: Round 1 against reigning Premiers Manly will obviously create a huge amount of interest but outside of that the club would have one eye on Back to Baulko Day when the Eagles host Pennant Hills in their Round 11 clash.
What We Say: The Eagles will be looking to turn Kanebridge Oval (formerly Bruce Purser Reserve) back into a fortress with the return of their first grade side to the AFL Sydney Premier Division competition. They start their 2015 campaign with a mouth-watering home clash against Manly-Warringah which many are already tipping as a likely Grand Final encounter. They won’t have much time to warm into the season with their first two road trips against 2014 finalists in Western Suburbs (Round 2) and Pennant Hills (Round 4). Their first match after the fortnight-long break is away to rivals, Sydney University before arguably their toughest stretch from Rounds 10-13 where they play four of the top five sides from 2014. A nice element of their draw is that their opening and closing four weeks have the Eagles fixture to play two matches at home and two matches away.
Campbelltown Blues
2014 finish: 8th
2015 Home (H) and Away (A) schedule: AHHHAAHAHAAHHHAAHA
Pencil It In: Campbelltown will be looking for a change of fortunes from 2014 in their Round 4 match against Western Suburbs at Monarch Oval.
What We Say: Further to the above, Campbelltown started poorly last year with a heavy opening round defeat at the hands of the Magpies. In what is a defining year for Campbelltown, they must make in-roads in the opening month given their very difficult finish. They start their 2015 season with a night match away to Sydney University. They will back themselves to sit in the top five after the first month given three of their opening four matches are at home. They will need to be primed and have all troops on deck after the fortnight break in June with matches in Round 8 and 9 against the two Grand Final sides from last season in Pennant Hills and defending premiers, Manly-Warringah. As noted, they will need to have runs on the board given three of their final four matches are away from Monarch against likely finalists; Western Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, Pennant Hills and East Coast.
North Shore Bombers
2014 finish: 7th
2015 Home (H) and Away (A) schedule: HHAAHAHAAHHHAAHAHA
Pencil It In: The Bombers have enjoyed some close tussles with UTS in recent seasons so there should be plenty on the line in their Round 15 encounter at Gore Hill Oval.
What We Say: After a below par 2014 season, the Bombers will hope for a return to the finals and should be aided with their opening two matches winnable ones at home. They will also have circled their chances at redemption with cross-town rivals Manly-Warringah in Rounds 4 (away) and 11 (home) given the latter’s dominance since their inclusion to Premier Division. Rounds 8 and 9 post the mid-season break could well be pivotal with consecutive road trips to UNSW/ES and UTS. They will be hoping they are in a strong position given a tough back-end to the season with their final three rounds seeing them play St George (away), East Coast (home) and Pennant Hills (away).
UNSW/ES Bulldogs
2014 finish: 6th
2015 Home (H) and Away (A) schedule: AAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAA
Pencil It In: The Bulldogs will be keen to make a statement in their first game at home against Manly-Warringah on ANZAC Day (Round 3).
What We Say: After narrowly missing out on finals last season courtesy of an upset final round loss to East Coast, the Bulldogs will be looking to start the season off on a positive note away to UTS and North Shore in the opening two weeks. The Manly-Warringah Round 3 will be the start of a tough three weeks where they also play 2014 finalists, St George and Pennant Hills. After the mid-season break, they will be likely to win most of their next four matches given three of these are at home. The toughest of these will be away to East Coast. There are some tough assignments in the final month of the regular season headlined by a final round trip to Manly-Warringah.
Last Modified on 30/01/2015 08:26
