The first game this week has the Tamworth Kangaroos hosting the Tamworth Swans at NO1. Oval in Tamworth. Whoever wins this game will be sitting a game clear on top the Country Energy TAFL Ladder on Saturday night. The Kangaroos have being doing enough to win most weeks, but according to their officials have not been playing well. While the Swans have been getting better and better each week, pleasing their coach Rick Watt immensely. The last time these 2 teams met was round 15 last year and the Kangaroos won this game by 31 points on the way to their 2008 Premiership. In fact the Swans haven't beaten the Kangaroos since 2006 resulting in 10 straight loses. On this basis and with the dramatic improvement of the Swans I think that they will be sitting in the coveted #1 spot after this game. But it will be the best game in the Country Energy TAFL this year and will be won out of the middle of the ground. The Swans have Gavin Knee, Captain Damien Wendt and Lachlan Rowling on fire at the moment, but the Kangaroos do have the mid field to match them with Captain Tim Cotter, Cameron Douglas and Mitch Douglas but the Swans trio is just going that little bit better at the moment.
My tip is for the frustration caused by not beating the Kangaroos since 2006 to bubble over into a Swans win by 30 points.
In Inverell the Saints host the struggling Muswellbrook Cats. The last time these 2 met was down at the Cattery in round 4 last year with the Saints winning by 139 points. The following 2 games last year between these 2 the Cats forfeited. The Cats are still having difficulty getting a full team on the ground each week and last week's flogging at the hands of the Swans makes it impossible to tip them to win this game. The Saints are slowly building this season and finding themselves under new coach Darren Bailey. The good thing for the Saints is after this week they will be a game clear inside the top four.
My tip is the Saints to win by at least 150 points.
The final game of the round has the Gunnedah Bulldogs hosting the New England Nomads. The winner of this game will be also a game clear in the top four at the end of the round. That is high motivation for both these teams as both are coming off consecutive losses. The Bulldogs started the season in tremendous form and were on top of the ladder for the first time early and their big problem is just getting the same 22 each week let alone 22 in total. They have been receiving great service from their new forward focal point Farran Lamb and boom recruit Paul Brown has been winning the ball all over the ground. The Nomads have surprised me a little this year, being a bit further advanced then I thought. The big problem the Nomads have is their accuracy in front of goal. It has cost them 2 games this year. Against the Saints, in Inverell, if the Nomads had have kicked straight in their totally dominate third quarter they would have had a significant lead going into the last quarter and would have put immense pressure on the Saints. Last week was the same against the Kangaroos in Tamworth and quite possibly they could be on top of the ladder. The last 2 meetings between these 2 were in round 15 last year at the Kennel with the Nomads winning by 4 goals and in the Elimination Final last year in Armidale, where the very undermanned Bulldogs just went down to the Nomads by 2 goals.
This is the hardest game to tip a winner in. The Bulldogs are on the up and are more than capable of winning. If the nomads kick straight then they should. My tip Nomads by 4 points.
Last Modified on 10/06/2009 21:57