Game 1 - Tamworth Kangaroos v Gunnedah Bulldogs
The Drum is not sure if the Kangaroos were red hot last week or if the Swans were very poor so will have a flutter each way. The tap tap on The Drum through the week was that if the Rooboys avoided the big white skewers a little more the Swans would have been in a different postcode. In any event they looked sharp and will no doubt again be a force to be reckoned with, as their forward line is bolstered further this week with the return of club legend Dan Overeem and the debut of Notluke Hodge. The Dogs were in the hunt against the Eagles and The Drum is that stopping big Sam Naismith will again be the key to putting a leash on the lads from Gunnedah. With his height, mobility and developing skills this is no easy task, and his thumping boot will see him potent on the confines of number one. The Dogs aren't without other ball winners but I suspect they will struggle to match the Roos pound for pound on what we saw last weekend, and I expect the Roomachine to keep on roollin'.
The Drum: Kangaroos by eight goals.
Game 2 - Muswellbrook Cats v Tamworth Swans
The Drum suspects the Cats will be bitter this weekend, as they would have been fancied by the percussion section to snatch a victory to the battered boys from the red side of Tamworth. The whispers are that the Swans are struggling to muster a team and won't head down to the Hunter.
Game 3 - Narrabri Eagles v Inverell Saints
After having to concede last week's match due to the sentencing of Jono Elphick, The Drum expected the Saints to be busting a gut to have a crack at the unbeaten Eagles. Jono must have put on one hell of a drink, because there is a knock-knock around that the Saints are also in trouble in getting together troops to sail across the plains. Phil Dennis will rue a lost opportunity to put some acid on his charges leading into the season, and The Drum sits agape that the mighty Saints find themselves in such a pickle.
The Drum hopes that the League returns after Easter with a belly more full of footballing fire than chocolate eggs, and that the fifty percent strike rate of actually getting a match in the preseason is only an anomoly.
Last Modified on 18/04/2011 18:21