East Coast opened up their lead at the top of the AFL Sydney Premier Division ladder to six points, and are now near-certainties for the minor premiership.
As you look down, the top five is close to being set if results go according to form this weekend.
East Coast Eagles vs Western Suburbs- Kanebridge Oval- Saturday 1.10pm
Who can stop East Coast?
The Eagles are running hot and are getting shorter in premiership odds with each week.
Last week they rose to the challenge against St George after only leading by two goals at half-time.
The key is to shut them down offensively which is easier said than done. They have kicked 100+ points in their last seven games.
Andrew McConnell kicked five goals in a best on ground showing, and was well supported by Jamie Vlatko. Number 9 in the AFL Sydney Top 20 players, Andrew Browning should dominate the ruck contests against makeshift ruckman, Josh Zoppo who played in the key role last week.
Western Suburbs put out one of their better showings of the season and sealed their second win against UTS.
The 33 point win could basically be put down to the heroics of Paul Bevan who kicked 10 goals. The former AFL star has been a Mr Fixit this year plugging a number of holes in the leaky Magpies boat but seems to have settled deep down forward.
He and Taran Etto have been the Magpies best players this year by the length of the Flemington straight.
Danny’s Prediction: East Coast by 51 points
Manly-Warringah GIANTS vs UTS Bats- Weldon Oval- Saturday 2.30pm
Both sides come off disappointing losses in matches they would have been favoured to win.
The GIANTS lost to Pennant Hills for the second time this year. They led by 14, 29 and 21 points at each of the three breaks only to be over-run by the Demons back at Ern Holmes.
It is now unfamiliar territory for the Northern Beaches boys who have now lost two of their last three matches.
The mid-season loss of Wils Brassil in the ruck and deep in defence cannot be understated. They missed Harrison Koch as well as Brayden Fowler for the Demons clash and the latter would have been handy in the final quarter where the GIANTS were kept scoreless. The injury to captain Connor Pettersson also didn’t help their cause.
The Bats just about kissed their finals chances goodbye with their loss to Western Suburbs at home.
Depth continues to be a major concern for the Bats. Josh Maddox and Jason Fleming are constants in the best players but there is a big drop away from there.
They would take some confidence out of pushing the GIANTS in their previous encounter in Round 5, where they dominated the opening exchanges only to fall short by 33 points- a result that flattered Manly.
Danny’s Prediction: Manly-Warringah by 44 points
UNSW/ES Bulldogs vs St George Dragons- Village Green- Sunday 2.30pm
This match doubles as the AFL Sydney Match of the Week courtesy of Digital Sports.
Having lost their last eight games, the bye last week would have been a good opportunity for the Bulldogs to dust themselves off ahead of a big challenge this Sunday.
They have been better in attack in their past two matches, with the addition of Tim Cummins adding some spine to their forward line. Throw in former Western Suburbs and Balmain wing, Matt Round who is among the most skilful players in the competition, and the building blocks are there to cause some damage in the latter half of the year.
They are such a young outfit and will be prone to inconsistency which hopefully for them will not result in an avalanche of goals.
St George made a 73 point improvement on their previous encounter with East Coast which would suggest they are improving with also a young list.
Players like Brayden Kilpatrick and Daniel Tomlins are some of the most talented players from the south of Sydney will hold down key positions in the red and whites for years to come.
The return of Jordan West has also resulted in a spark of form. They won four in a row albeit against light opposition before the clash with the Eagles.
It could be a danger game for the Dragons given they only won their last encounter by 16 points in Round 4.
Danny’s Prediction: St George by 19 points
Sydney University vs Pennant Hills Demons- Blacktown International Sports Park- Sunday 3pm
Perhaps the closest game of the weekend will be played at BISP between two sides likely to taste finals football (4th and 2nd respectively).
One need only look to their Round 6 clash where the two sides played out a dour 51-all draw.
After a mid-season lean patch, the Students have enjoyed playing lesser opposition with higher scores being the result.
Last week they kicked nine goals to two after half-time to defeat North Shore by 43 points.
Matthew Powys has spent most of his time in the NEAFL this year but last week was Best on Ground and was well supported by Danny “Spud” Frawley and representative player, Tom Elkington.
The development of tall youngsters Spencer Krochmal and Will Stratford will be pivotal to the Students success in the back-half of the season.
Pennant Hills scored arguably their best win of the season against Manly-Warringah by 6 points.
Come-from-behind wins of that nature can be season-defining. It was particularly impressive after their 10 goal loss to East Coast the week before.
Damian Dell’Aquila continues to be a consistent performer for the Demons over many years, while Michael Talbot is under-rated as an on-baller.
Danny’s Prediction: Pennant Hills by 19 points
Last Modified on 17/07/2015 17:15
