Game 1 sees the high flying Eagles take on the Saints at Leitch Oval in Narrabri. The Eagles are coming off a good 16 point win over the Bulldogs. It was tight in the first half with the Eagles leading by 13 points at half time. The third quarter is when the Eagles took hold of the game kicking an impressive 6 straight goals to lead by 41 points at three quarter time. But the Bulldogs bit back in the last quarter putting a scare through the Eagles camp. Their opponents the Saints will need this run after forfeiting to the Nomads in round 1 due to Jono Elphick's wedding. It will be interesting to see what team the Saints get on the park.
Prediction: If the Eagles can play 4 quarters of football instead of just 3 then, with their confidence high, I think they can win by 10 points.
Game 2 is at Tamworth's No.1 Oval between the Kangaroos and the Bulldogs. After being blown away in the third quarter the Bulldogs responded to the words of new coach Peter Chapman and almost turned a 41point, 3/4 time flogging into a win, with only time running out stopping them. However, that said, the Kangaroos were awesome against the Swans running out 60 point winners. With limited numbers the Kangaroos have shown the rest of the EETAFL that they want to be the front runners this year.
Prediction: The Bulldogs will have gained confidence from their last quarter last week, but it will not help them this week. Kangaroos by 65 points.
Game 3 will see the Muswellbrook Cats take on the Swans at Werriman Field, otherwise known as the Cattery. The Cats had the bye in the first week and will be looking forward to playing their first game of the year. The Cats have been struggling for numbers over the last few years, but have had a good start to the season with some good recruits coming into the team. The Swans have also recruited well, but coach Gary Harriet would have been very disappointed with their effort against the Kangaroos. The Swans will need to look on this pre-season comp as total match practice and move on.
Prediction: Even though this game is at the Cattery and the Swans were not impressive last week, I just can't forget the last few years of struggle for the Cats. Swans by 34 points.
And last but not least, the Nomads have the bye. This is disappointing for the Nomads but they did have the Tablelands Cup as warm up so they won't be totally under done when the season proper starts.
Last Modified on 13/04/2011 22:21