At Bellevue Oval in Armidale the Nomads are desperate to keep their top four hopes alive and the Kangaroos are just as desperate to hold onto their top two spot. The last time these two teams met was in Tamworth and the Nomads could have beaten the Kangaroos had they kicked straight. The Kangaroos have had the best possible tune up for this game with last week's confidence building win over the Cats. I expected the Nomads to hold off the Saints last week and win for the first time in 3 years, how wrong I was. Going on form you have to pick the Kangaroos, especially as they seem to have found a third option to goal through Michael Filosi. And to have Filosi and Dan Overeem kick 9 goals and young Ash Cruickshank kicking 5 goals the whole Kangaroos team will be brimming with the confidence that will take them to the next step. The Nomads should be starting to get some of their injured and unavailable players back in the coming weeks and they should not be taken lightly at home, but what they wouldn't do for just one more Weston Whitby. Whitby is a winner in any position on the ground and if he was fully fit he would just be that much better.
I can't tip against form though and am going for the Kangaroos to win by 39 points.
Down at the Cattery the Cats will be hoping they can stop a repeat of the last time they met the Swans. Unfortunately for the Cats the Swans are coming off their second win of the season and will be looking to get back to their winning best. The Cats really do need an influx of players but you can't magically make them appear and they will continue to struggle. It is unfortunate as they seem to have really got their behind the scene act well and truly on track. The Swans have swept all before it this year and last week they showed that if they are going to have a bad day they will have a horrible one. I think last week is just bump in the road for the Swans and the poor old Cats will cop it.
My tip is the Swans by 123 points.
Over at the Kennel the Bulldogs will be determined to keep their unbeaten home ground record intact. The Saints on the other hand will be trying to show the rest of the league it is still a force to be reckoned with. The Kennel holds no fears for the Saints as they have won more than their fair share games there. Both of these teams are fairly evenly matched and this will be the game of the round. The Bulldogs recruits are really shinning through this year and their young guns led by Farran Lamb and Sam Naismith mean they are a real contender this year. The Saints have also recruited well this year and found a potential future star in young Keiran Te Velde who has impressed the Saints faithful with his improvement with each game this year.
This game is just too hard to pick. Both are on a par with form so I could go for a draw. But because it is at the Kennel I will tip the Bulldogs by 8 points.
Last Modified on 30/06/2009 23:11