Not since the excessive 1990s era has a US-born player dominated the State League in the way that Dusty Rychart has this year.

And not since the last sentence has anyone referred to the 1990s as an "era" and not been ridiculed.

In a decade in which Willie Jeanette, Butch Hays, Mark Davis, Jeff Bichmore, Ron Nunnelly and Chad Spady picked up 9 of the 10 Woollacott medals between them (kudos if you can name the other two winners), many teams boasted imports, but in more responsible times, Dusty stands alone.

Ignoring a blip in the radar while jetlagged on May 12, and a rare down game last week when he was well-held by Norwood, Dusty has not put a foot wrong all season. In his three outings against Forestville, he has averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds, and a week after his lowest point, he will be more than keen to exert his dominance.

Forestville's switching defence makes it impossible to name a likely opponent, but one would expect Peter Hoban and Kane Oakley to split minutes on Rychart. A vastly different player to Forestville's previous centres, which have included Willie Simmons, Paul Rees, Pero Vasiljevic and Neil Mottram, Kane Oakley's influence in the Eagles' post-Dix era has been remarkable. He has been the ultimate team player in a unit full of scorers, showing no evidence of a shot quota and instead doing everything he can to make his team successful. Oakley's passionate outburst after a tip jam in the qualifying final was an attempt to carry his team across the line and while not successful, it was clear how much he wanted it.

Marquee players such as Rychart and Oakley play their part, but another reason that this game will set an attendance record for Hillcrest is the excitement provided by two guards on the verge of a lifelong dream. Erik Burdon and Matt Sutton are on the tenuous precipice between professional sport and looking for an alternate career path. Sutton made the most of his opportunities in a depleted 36er lineup last year and has earned another chance to compete at that level. Burdon is also working towards a spot in the 36ers rotation and with Marcus Ng would be considered the pre-eminent shooting guard in the Central ABL. While unlikely to match up on each other (Sutton-Zorich and Arnold-Burdon matchups are more likely) their respective impacts will be critically judged by those placing bets on NBL court time.

In their last outing, Forestville shell-shocked North with a deafening 36-22 first stanza. With Wayne "jump stop" Haydon hitting two threes in the first quarter of this game and Peter Hoban scoring 16 in the first half, the Rockets would be well aware of Forestville's depth in scoring power, given that these players are Forestville's 8^th and 9^th top scorers. Darren Breeding, who sits at 10^th on this list, had a 20 point game against Sturt this season.

North stayed alive on July 20 through a great start from Rychart, but had good contributions from Zorich, Nick Hambour and Burdon. Zorich in particular was tireless in pushing the ball up the court, and a breakaway dunk in the fourth quarter zapped the crowd into life. North's eight player rotation worked well, and the confidence that all eight had going into the final quarter was obvious.

To repeat the performance, the Rockets need to keep Forestville's shooters in check. At 21.9 points a game, Brenton Campbell is the league's highest scoring 6^th man (though as a substitute, Ryan Kersten is no slouch either), and if fully fit, Brad Sullivan is capable of taking over a game, especially at his former home. Carrying a hand to these shooters and keeping Oakley to a modest total would go a long way towards a win.

Forestville's chances hinge on it applying the free flowing man-ahead style that worked so well for it in the first half against North, and that has contributed to it being the most dominant local team this decade. At the other end, they need clamp Zorich's transition, and divine the difference between Burdon's shot fakes and actual shots, both of which can come from any post code.

Keeping Dusty below 45 might help too.