Game 1: Tamworth Swans v New England Nomads
The Swans will have been stung by their wooden spoon finish last year and as such have convinced their reigning grand final winning coach Rick Watt to return to the nest. This is a big thing for the Swans and should have helped them in their recruiting campaign. And a notable addition to their list is Paul Tapper. Tap Tap is getting a bit long in the tooth but you know what you get with him, a red hot go. Besides height is always a good thing. The Nomads also have a new coach this year and while I know little about Tom Granleese his previous league, AFL Capricornia, is a reasonably strong league so I would expect high things from him. As we are in school holidays the Nomads may struggle to put their strongest team on the ground. But any team that has Weston Whitby in it, and I assume he will be back again this year, can not be taken lightly.
Tip: Round 1 in any league is a bit of a lottery but I always tend to go with the home team in the first Round, Swans by 12 points.
Game 2: Inverell Saints v Tamworth Kangaroos
These two teams have been the form teams of the last 5 years facing off in four grand finals for two wins apiece. The Saints have a new coach this year in big Jason Gobbert. Gobbert was a big reason why the Saints won their first premiership in 2007. This will be a new experience for him and I will be interested to see how the Saints game style has changed from the last years Nick Baird inspired style. Baird didn't do to much wrong as his style took them to two grand finals in his two years in charge. Notable recuits for the Saints is the return of the very skilled Alex Walker and Nicholas Reid and Marc Bauer from AFL Riverina. AFL Riverina is a very good league and big things will be expected of Reid and Bauer. The only team that does not have a new coach is the Kangaroos. Tim Cotter will have made sure his team is very fit again this year. I have heard on the grape vine that the Kangaroos have recruited some height over the summer. They also recruited from some very good leagues in Bendigo Junior Football League, Jake Bingham, Southern Football League, Shaun Cotter, and Joel Sim from the Broken Hill Football League. I don't much about the Broken Hill League but I do know they have produced at least one player who has played AFL at the hieghest level. As usual this will be great game between two great teams.
Tip: I just have to go with the home team by 9 points.
Game 3 Muswellbrook Cats v Gunnedah Bulldogs
The Cats showed real improvement last year after not winning a game in years 2008,2009 and 2010. Unfortunately for them they have lost their coach in Bryce O'Conner who has gone to the South Coast. I don't know who their new coach is but they have recruited from the the strong Newcastle League, Cameron Davis, and the Sydney Football League, Jarrod Braybon. I hope their improvement can continue this year. The Bulldogs almost didn't start this year as they lost a lot of players from last year. But their core group of supporters made a commitment to continue this year and it is a credit to them. They managed to find a new coach, Errol Lather, and with the unfortunate situation of the Narrabri Eagles not fielding a team this year, they have picked up some pretty handy Eagles as well. But it will take time for a new coach and basicly a new team that has not played together to gel and it maybe a little later in the year before they win a game.
Tip: I think the Cats will get home in this game by 26 points and yes they are the home team too.
Last Modified on 12/04/2012 11:14