All eyes turn to Blacktown International Sports Park on Saturday with three Representative clashes to be played.
The smorgasbord will feature three matches with sides travelling from the Black Diamond and Canberra to compete.
AFL Sydney vs AFL Canberra- Mens- 2.10pm
The Senior Men will be gunning for their first back-to-back success on the Representative arena since 1997-98 in the main event at Blacktown.
Pundits are tipping a closer affair than last year when AFL Sydney dominated their Canberra rivals to romp home to a 68-point win.
They will be purely a better outfit given that Belconnen and Queanbeyan have dropped back from the NEAFL to the AFL Canberra competition. James Bennett looks the key man to stop in the midfield with the former North Adelaide SANFL player full of experience and a former NEAFL Representative player. He will be front of mind in Sydney coach, Roger Moten’s opposition analysis.
Chris York and Brett Freund headline a strong forward line who have kicked 48 goals between them in the five games each have played this season.
With this said, the Sydney side are full of their own arsenal. This is even without former Phelan Medallists, Ty Armitage (VFL) and Alex Goodall (Ovens and Murray), who have moved onto greener pastures, and Stuart Turner (foot) who would have been an automatic selection.
Brayden Fowler will be the figurehead and the man Canberra will be looking to thwart after he ran rampant with eight goals in the corresponding fixture. The 22-year old isn’t quite in the same form as last year where he registered over 80 goals in Premier Division but is still the linchpin for the local side.
Sydney are arguably fielding their best side in many years, largely due to East Coast coming back into the Sydney senior competition. East Coast are contributing six players to the final squad.
Moten has done a good job with the balance of the side. There are contested ball winners aplenty in the likes of Trent Stubbs, James Brain, Damien Bonney and Andrew McConnell. Height is arguably the greatest aspect of the side with Jordan Weir, Tom Larby, Tom Elkington, Keiran Emery and Fowler likely to hold key positions.
You are always keeping one eye on the next tier of talent coming through. Blake Guthrie returns from a stint in the VFL and while he has had an injury-affected season, he is one who loves the opportunity to impress at a higher level. He will be looking to follow the lead of fellow teammate and 2014 St George Best and Fairest, Alex Wynn who was one of the best for the senior side last year.
All in all, it is a young side. The average age of the side is 23, with Taran Etto the baby at 19 and Gareth Benbow the elder statesman at 29 (sorry Gareth, but its still young).
Key Match Ups
Trent Stubbs (AFL Sydney) vs James Bennett (AFL Canberra)
The two Rolls Royce’s of the respective sides will hopefully go head-to-head on Saturday in a Dangerfield v Fyfe style match-up. Both are players who can spend most of their time in the midfielder but also be damaging up forward. Bennett has played 206 games in senior age competitions and returned 184 goals, while Stubbs averages better than a goal a game and is averaging over three goals a game this year mainly in the midfield.
Keiran Emery (AFL Sydney) vs Chris York (AFL Canberra)
Emery will have a key role on the main goal threat in the Canberra line-up. York is kicking goals for fun this year, managing 36 goals in 5 matches- including a haul of 12 one week. Emery who is Mr Efficient (89% in the NEAFL last season) by boot will need to be watched on the rebound and is an experienced campaigner himself.
Andrew Browning (AFL Sydney) vs Matt Boak (AFL Canberra)
As always, the ruckmen will be crucial in providing first supply to the midfield. Browning will be well-versed with his opposition, his footballing journey included a year in the Canberra league in 2013. He has been in ripping form this year for the East Coast Eagles who boast the best attacking record by some distance in the Premier Division competition. It will be a big task for the 20 year-old Boak who has only played 35 games of senior football.
Danny’s Prediction: AFL Sydney by 26 points
AFL Sydney vs AFL Canberra- Womens- 9.30am
The day kicks off in the morning with the second women’s clash this year between Sydney and Canberra.
The local side will take the confidence of beating their opposition two months ago by 35 points, courtesy of a barnstorming second half.
This is counteracted by the fact that both sides are depleted due to the NSW/ACT Womens side, composing a number of first-choice players from both sides, playing at Punt Road Oval on the same weekend against AFL Victoria.
At a quick count, this number exceeds 20 players (14- Sydney, 7- Canberra). With this comes opportunity for a number of players to step up and stake a claim and seal their berth for future campaigns.
A win to Sydney will see them claim the trophy, whereas a Canberra win will see them retain it after their victory last year.
Players to Watch
Nikki “Killer” Perrett
The 25 year old is first reserve for the NSW/ACT Womens’ side so she could be a late withdrawal but if she plays she will be a key on the ball for local side. She was the Women’s Division Two Best and Fairest last year and continues to be dominant with Penrith.
Lara Hilmi
Lara is somewhat of a veteran in this side in terms of Representative experience. The UTS star is a consistent performer and will need to be watched.
Haneen Zreika
Zreika is one of the most inexperienced in the side, having only played two Senior matches with Auburn. She is a talented junior with the 16 year old having represented NSW/ACT at the Under 18 Youth Girl Championships. Will rotate in the midfield.
Tess Mutton
Mutton has been a dominant force in the ruck for Gosford. In her 15 senior games, she has been in the best 13 times. She has plenty of experience having played 76 games with East Fremantle. This could be a halcyon game for Mutton.
Danny’s Prediction: Scoring will be at a premium on the big Blacktown deck. AFL Sydney by 2 points
Remember you can watch all the Representative Matches live from 9.30am at www.youtube.com/aflsydneylive . Or if you are out and about, you can watch it later on replay via the same link.
Last Modified on 05/06/2015 17:23
