Sturt Sabres (8-5, 4th) v Forestville Eagles (10-3, 2nd)

Sturt will be hoping to sweep Forestville for a second consecutive season when the two sides meet in the Game of the Round, which tips off at the special time of 6.30pm at Pasadena on Saturday.

The Sabres are coming off a 22 point win over Centrals, on the back of 22 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists from Jacob Holmes and a 20 point, 5 rebound effort from Jan Warbout.

For the second week in a row, Nathan Kareta posted a career-high scoring output, adding 15 points.

Holmes has been in ridiculous form since returning to the line-up, averaging 20 ppg, 16 rpg and 7.75 apg over his past four matches.

The Sabres have won their last five by an average of 12.8 points, but the Eagles are also in hot form, coming out on top in their last four by an average of 10 points.

Their most recent scalp was another road success, defeating South Adelaide 105-95.

Brad Sullivan was again sensational with 31 points, including five treys.

Sullivan is averaging 24.6 ppg over his past eight matches and now leads the league in made three-pointers with 37.

Rashad Tucker was also spectacular with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, while James Boonstoppel scored 16.

Back in Round 4, Sturt won 88-72, although Forestville did not have Boonstoppel or starting Centre Neil Mottram active.

The Eagles sit two games ahead of the Sabres with five remaining, but Sturt should eat into this deficit with a win here. 

Eastern Mavericks (4-9, 8th) v Central District Lions (2-10, 9th)

Going into its Round 14 home clash with the Lions, Eastern sits three games out the top five, with just five matches remaining in the season.

An eighth loss in nine games would basically confine the Mavs to the inevitable: missing the finals yet again.

Eastern began the season with so much promise, but since defeating Centrals by two points in Round 5, the Mavs have capitulated.

With Brad Hill out through injury, Eastern crashed to a 74-98 loss to Norwood, despite the best efforts of Ben Madgen (21 points, 11 rebounds).

Aaron Bruce (14 points) showed his frustration by picking up two technical fouls.

The Lions struggled against in-form Sturt, going down 57-79.

Daniel Carlin was the only Lion to register double-figures with 10 points and 10 rebounds, as star man Josh Kollasch was held to 6 points on 3/16 shooting.

Centrals have not won on the road this season, but the Mavs have won just once at home, so for one team, the drought will be broken.

I will go with the Lions in a tight one.

Norwood Flames (10-2, 1st) v North Adelaide Rockets (7-6, 5th)

North will be hoping to avoid rare back-to-back road defeats when it faces Norwood at Mars on Saturday.

The Rockets went down 68-74 last week to West at Port Adelaide, the only venue they have not won at in the last two years.

North’s six point loss was its biggest regular season road defeat since 2009, although it did lose by nine to Forestville at Wayville in the 2010 Elimination Final.

Ryan Franceschinis was the team’s high-scorer with 14 points, while Matthew Lycett had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals.

Norwood continued its march to the Minor Premiership with a big win over Eastern.

Nick Hambour and Robin Eley each had their best games as Flames.

Hambour had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Eley hit 5/6 threes and scored 15 points in just 10 minutes of playing time.

David Cooper starred with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, while Todd Matthews had a “quintuple-four” (4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls) to go with his 14 points.

Last time they met, Norwood was too strong, winning 98-80.

The Rockets are a much-improved side since then, but I believe the Flames will get up in a close encounter.

West Adelaide Bearcats (9-4, 3rd) v Woodville Warriors (6-7, 7th)

The Bearcats and Warriors, both victorious in Round 13 after a difficult few weeks previously, meet for the second time this season, at Port Adelaide on Saturday.

Westies defeated North in a close one last Saturday, with Tristan Braithwaite (15 points, 4 rebounds) netting two clutch free throws to seal the victory.

New Cairns Taipans signing Jeff Dowdell was active for the first time in four matches and was superb with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Blake Truslove had 14 points and 8 rebounds.

After an ordinary start to the season, Truslove has averaged 14.8 ppg and 12.3 rpg over his past six games, while shooting 62% from the field.

Woodville defeated Southern 103-70, in a game most notable for an on-court brawl.

The win ended the Warriors’ three game losing streak.

Cameron Wilson, in just 23 minutes, had 23 points on 11/14 shooting, 8 assists and 4 rebounds.

Zane Reeves added 16 points and 6 rebounds, while Colin Matteson and Josh Knight each scored 14.

The last time they met, it was the Warriors who got up for an upset 75-70 victory.

I reckon things will be a little different this time, with the Bearcats grabbing another home victory.

South Adelaide Panthers (6-7, 6th) v Southern Tigers (2-11, 10th)

South hosts Southern on Sunday in what is a must-win game for the home side.

After winning three straight, the Panthers have dropped two in succession.

Their most recent loss was a 95-105 home defeat to Forestville, despite 37 points and 15 rebounds from Daniel Johnson.

Johnson, who leads the league in scoring (28.7 ppg) and is third in rebounding (13.9 rpg), has been phenomenal over the last five matches, averaging 35 ppg, 18 rpg and 3 bpg.

Thomas McKenzie had 18 points against the Eagles, his best output since the season’s opening day.

The Tigers suffered through yet another heavy defeat in Round 13, this time to the Warriors.

An eighth consecutive defeat got too much for Marcus Robinson and Scott O’Connor, who were both ejected late in the third quarter.

Michael Florance was the shining light on another dim night with 26 points and 7 rebounds.

South was the last opponent to go down to the lacklustre Tigers, with Southern coming from behind for a six point victory.

Expect things to be completely different this time, with the Panthers winning big and keeping their finals hopes alive.

 

Woodville Warriors (6-7, 7th) v Sturt Sabres (8-5, 4th)

Woodville and Sturt will complete their Round 14 double-header when they battle at St Clair on Sunday.

The Warriors will be coming off a crucial clash with West, while the Sabres have a tough encounter with Forestville.

Woodville got up over Southern in Round 13, breaking a three game losing streak.

The Warriors still sit just one win out the top five, so this is a vital game for them.

Sturt has won five straight and risen to fourth.

The Sabres’ good form has given them a reasonable chance of securing a double-chance come finals time.

Jacob Holmes, Darren Ng, Jan Warbout and Tom Daly complete a strong quartet for Sturt, while Cameron Wilson, Zane Reeves, Colin Matteson and Josh Knight are the Warriors’ four star players.

Last time they met, the Sabres blew out Woodville 92-61.

Expect the same result here with a bit closer scoreline.

By James Woite