The Whitsunday Sea Eagles will travel to Beaconsfield to take on the North Mackay Saints in a season defining match, with victory keeping the Airlie Beach club in reach of the top 4.
An interest encounter waits for Zeolla Park as the third placed Saints come up against the sixth placed Sea Eagles. North Mackay will be looking towards finals and claiming a home final and today is a win no doubt the Saints have locked away and will play a role if they are to lock in the home final.
With the Magpies facing the Swans, a win today for the Saints will give them a two game gap between them and the fourth placed Magpies.
For the Sea Eagles it has been a fairly inconsistent start to the year and will be looking to start their run towards a possible top 4 appearance. If the round 3 result is anything to go by where the Saints ran out 12 point victors at the Whitsunday Sports Park, Zeolla Park is in for a blockbuster.
It was a low-scoring encounter back in April with only 14-goals kicked for the match and expect another tight tussle again.
Playing Coach Matt Laskey is a key to the Sea Eagles success as is Eli Gunders, Chris Bray and Luke McCaul, who were the biggest contributors against the Saints last time.
For North Mackay veteran Brendan Cowcher has been in superb form as has Mathew Landt along with up and coming star Brenton Lauder. This trio have been fantastic controlling majority of the Saints attacking raids.
Of the top four sides, North Mackay are ranked the lowest side for offensive score and lack a key marking forward that takes the game away from opposition sides. Throwing an extra in defense may be the option to stem the Saints forward options and might just be the weapon for the Sea Eagles to come away with the four premiership points.
For the Sea Eagles, the influence of ruck switch centre half forward of Eli Gunders will be a key but the Sea Eagles must make sure the towering junior isn't their only focal point.
An interesting game and one worth watching at Zeolla Park from 2:45pm.
First Bounce: 2:45pm
Where: Zeolla Park, Beaconsfield
When: Saturday 20th June
Cost: Gate Entry set by North Mackay
Results in season 2015
Rd3: Whitsundays 6.9 (47) def. by North Mackay 8.9 (57)
Photo By Christina Unterwurzacher
North Mackay and Whitsunday rucks contest a centre bounce during their round 3 encounter
Last Modified on 22/06/2015 17:08