ROUND 10 PREVIEW – WEEK TWO
By Chris Weaver
Saturday, 20 June
Port Melbourne (5-3) v Coburg Tigers (5-3)
Last Time: Round 14, 2008 at ABD Group Stadium – Port Melbourne 19.19 (133) def Coburg Tigers 8.10 (58)
TEAC Oval, 1.10 pm (ABC TV)
Port Melbourne’s winning streak at home now stands at sixteen games, the entirety of Gary Ayres’ coaching tenure at TEAC Oval.
The Borough struggled through the second half of their Round 9 match against Collingwood, simply lacking the stamina to run with trained AFL athletes.
This time, their smaller, more familiar ground combined with a fortnight’s recuperation should see them through the game.
Jade Rawlings’ departure to coach AFL side Richmond means that former Brisbane Lions forward Craig McRae takes charge, his first senior coaching position.
It is in time to see one of Rawlings’ selection shocks, Joel Bowden’s demotion from the AFL side last week meaning that he appears for Coburg, just his sixth game at this level.
One advantage for Coburg comes up forward, where their talls look more mobile than their counterparts, as Jay Schulz looks to continue the form that saw him kick eight goals last start against Werribee.
Tip: Port Melbourne by 21 points
Williamstown (6-2) v Geelong (3-5)
Last Time: Round 4, 2008 at Skilled Stadium – Geelong 16.16 (112) def Williamstown 12.8 (80)
Burbank Oval, 2.00 pm (Casey Radio 3SER, 97.7 FM)
Congratulations are due to James Podsiadly, who this week plays his 175th VFL senior match, qualifying the former ‘Frosty’ Miller Medallist for VFL life membership.
It was at this venue last year that Podsiadly, then at Werribee, narrowly failed to get the goals needed to take the goal-kicking award away from Sandringham’s Nick Sautner.
The Cats’ tall forward line of Podsiadly, Tom Lonergan, Dawson Simpson and Ben Johnson will be matched well by the height the Seagulls possess in Andrejs Everitt, Cameron Wight and the returning Tom Williams.
It is hard to see the inexperienced Geelong defence nullifying the speedy Williamstown duo of Matthew Little and Patrick Rose, who despite their average height are able to ‘play tall’.
Having lost two successive games and looking jaded, the split round could not have come at a better time for the Seagulls, who will need to win to remain in outright second place at the half-way mark of the season.
Tip: Williamstown by 28 points
Sunday, 21 June
Box Hill Hawks (5-3) v Sandringham (4-4)
Last Time: Round 4, 2008 at Box Hill City Oval – Sandringham 25.14 (164) def Box Hill Hawks 11.10 (76)
Box Hill City Oval, 2.00 pm (3WBC 94.1 FM)
Sandringham possesses strength on every line at the moment, a consequence of a strong VFL stand-alone list being married to a fit and firing St Kilda side.
Yet the Zebras have struggled to click this season, routinely following one strong performance with an absolute stinker.
The bye followed by the split round has meant that this is their first outing in three weeks, following the expected (and sadly routine) demolition they carried out against the moribund Bendigo Bombers.
Box Hill meantime also comes into the game with confidence courtesy of the Bombers.
They found the going tougher than expected on the Queen’s Birthday holiday, even being outscored by the bottom side in the final term at Windy Hill.
With a defence that is strong bodied and mature in mind, the Zebras should make few errors as they rebound from their defensive zone through Matt Maguire, Peter Summers and Andy Biddlecombe.
Biddlecombe reaches his century of VFL senior games this week, a well earned milestone for one of the league’s most dependable performers and quiet contributors.
The Hawks though are hard to beat at home and should just fall in for the points here.
Tip: Box Hill Hawks by 17 points
Bye – Bendigo Bombers
Last Modified on 20/06/2009 10:57