Match One: Tamworth Swans v New England Nomads at Number One Oval Saturday 2pm
The TAFL enters the last round of home and away matches as the Swans play host to the league leading Nomads on Saturday afternoon. The homeside are coming off yet another wet weekend with no footy while the Nomads got themselves back in the winners circle with a good win over the Bulldogs in Narrabri last start.
The Swans have struggled in 2013 and a lack of footy in recent weeks is not helping their cause. They have been affected twice in recent weeks due to wash outs and will enter this clash coming from a last start narrow loss in Muswellbrook to the Cats. They have welcomed back a few of their veterans in recent weeks, but when these teams last played they were thoroughly beaten by the Nomads in Armidale. If they are any chance of reversing that outcome, they will needs each of their men on the park to put in 100% to every contest and hope to catch the Nomads napping.
However, the Nomads have not slipped up regularly this season. They lost to the Roos a fortnight ago when severely weakened and took another under strength side to Narrabri last week and still came away with the bikkies. They continue to be the benchmark of the TAFL and it is hard to see them losing a clash like this with the Roos and Saints hot on the tails at the pointy end of the ladder.
Recent history suggests this could be another big percentage booster for the Nomads and unless the Swans pull out something extraordinary, it would be a brave man to suggest otherwise this weekend.
TAFL Tipster – Nomads by 70 points
Match Two: Inverell Saints v Muswellbrook Cats at Varley Oval Saturday 2pm
Another club that has been affected in recent weeks due to a lack of footy is the Saints. They have been a little inconsistent this season and they desperately need to get a run of footy going for their momentum forward. They will tackle a Cats outfit that now faces the next step in their revitalisation, and that is being competitive against the top 3 teams in the TAFL.
The Saints have taken to the field only once in the past 3 weeks, with a win over the Bulldogs at home sandwiched between two washed out games in Tamworth. They will need a win this weekend to keep in touch with the top 2 on the ladder and will hope to add a healthy percentage boost as well as the 4 points. Mostly, I’d imagine they will be simply be keen to get 100 minutes of footy under their belts.
The Cats have put one foot in the TAFL finals with 5 rounds to go. They have a game break over the Bulldogs and need to continue to play good footy as a tilt at the finals beckons. As mentioned above, they need to make the step, and that is being competitive against the top sides in the TAFL, which they haven’t been so far this year. They were in the game for a long time last week against the Roos, however the final score line was far from close. If they can head north and put up a good fight, it will do wonders to the confidence of their younger stars.
The Saints in Inverell is a daunting prospect for many clubs, and even more so when you have spent 5 hours in a bus getting there. It will be a tough ask for the Cats, but not beyond them.
TAFL Tipster – Saints by 50 points
Match Three: Gunnedah Bulldogs v Tamworth Kangaroos at Wolseley Oval Saturday 2pm
The final match of the weekend sees the Dogs back at their Gunnedah home taking on the rampant Roos on Saturday afternoon. The Dogs have been strong in the two clashes between these clubs in the season so far, and in Round 1 especially they had a great chance of pulling off an upset before going down. It would be a big reversal in form if they could win this, but not totally beyond them.
The Dogs enter the clash without a win in the past 7 Rounds. They have lost their spot in the top 4 and face the Roos desperately needing a win. They were competitive for much of the match last week against the Nomads, but could not find the spark to get them back in the game. If they can get a roll on at home this weekend, they have the ability to pull off an upset here.
The Roos have rolled on over the past round of matches. They went through that period without a loss and now sit one win behind the league leaders and still a chance of taking the Minor Premiership. However, they will need to win games like these this weekend and help their percentage along the way. They struggled to put the Cats away in a scrappy game last week and will be hoping for a better effort this week.
The Dogs are pretty strong at home and will be keen to maintain their record in Gunnedah this weekend. However, this match means too much for the Roos to take lightly.
TAFL Tipster – Roos by 50 points
Last Modified on 04/07/2013 20:07