West Adelaide Bearcats (11-5, 3rd) v Norwood Flames (10-6, 5th)
Saturday July 28, 6.30pm at Port Adelaide

With yet another trip to the post-season now belatedly secured, the Norwood Flames can look to improve their seeding when they visit the West Adelaide Bearcats in the Match of the Round.

The Flames won for the fifth time in as many outings last weekend, delivering the crushing blow to the Woodville Warriors’ finals hopes with a 78-61 victory. They set up the win with a 47-33 first half. It was the Flames’ 13th straight triumph over the Warriors. The in-form Brian Moultrie starred with 25 points and 22 rebounds, while Matthew Lycett and Todd Matthews had 30 between them.

The Bearcats are one of the teams inside the five whom the Flames could leapfrog. Their 88-71 win over the Tigers (Patrick Thomas 21 points, Anthony Spadavecchia 19 points) in Round 16 has given them a realistic chance of finishing in the top three. However, a loss would have them on the same number of wins and losses as the Flames with a game to go.

Last time they met, the Bearcats got home 67-63 in a thriller. Keith Krause had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Flames, while Howard Salters Jr. scored 20 for the Bearcats. Bearcat Centre Blake Truslove added 18 points and 18 rebounds. The Flames need to win by at least five points to take the series split, which could be crucial in two weeks’ time.

With the form the Flames are in, they are very hard to tip against right now, but the Bearcats will not be easy to beat.

South Adelaide Panthers (4-12, 9th) v Sturt Sabres (12-4, 2nd)
Saturday July 28, 8.15pm at Marion

The South Adelaide Panthers will be hoping to put an end to their 10-game losing streak when they host the Sturt Sabres.

10 games ago, the Panthers and Sabres had the same win-loss ratio. However, after eight wins in 10 games from the Sabres, they now have opposite records. The Sabres need to win more games than Forestville over the next two rounds in order to finish first, but they can still finish outside the top three if all results go against them.

In Round 16, the Panthers avoided the chance to move out of the bottom two with an 80-92 loss to Centrals. Jordan Robertson (20), Damian Scanlon (16) and Kyle Howe-Tipene (14) were the Panthers’ high point men.

The Sabres continued their impeccable away form with a 92-77 victory over Eastern. The win was the Sabres’ seventh straight on the road. Tim Klaosen scored 25, while Stefan Wright and John Marriott added 15 and 10 respectively.

Last time they met, the Sabres handed the Panthers a 96-76 defeat. Tom Daly was the star of the evening with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Panthers knocked off the Sabres at Marion last season, but they should not expect to be so lucky this time.

Woodville Warriors (8-8, 6th) v Eastern Mavericks (1-15, 10th)
Saturday July 28, 8.15pm at St Clair

With both teams unable to move out of their current position, the Woodville Warriors and Eastern Mavericks have the opportunity to blood some youngsters when they go head-to-head in Round 17.

This is the fifth time in seven years the Warriors will finish in sixth position. They were locked into a top five position between Rounds 3-14, but back-to-back losses against Southern and Norwood mean the Warriors have to once again accept being the best team not to finish in the post-season.

The Mavericks (1-15) would probably love to be where the Warriors are at, but at least they have gathered some improved results in the back end of the season. They went down to the Sabres last week, despite the best efforts of Haydn Barns (15 points) and Shane Breheny (13 points).

Back in Round 8, the Warriors defeated the Mavericks 83-72. Steve Pilkington (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Cameron Wilson (15 points, 10 rebounds) were the Warriors’ best, while Maverick Lukass Blicavs was the game-high scorer with 24.

The Warriors would be understandably heart-broken by again coming so-close to post-season action, so the Mavericks have them at the right time.

Central District Lions (6-10, 7th) v North Adelaide Rockets (11-5, 4th)
Saturday July 28, 8.15pm at Starplex

Almost one year to the day, the lowly-ranked Central District Lions thumped the North Adelaide Rockets 86-51 at Starplex, which cost the Rockets a home Elimination Final.

With the positions these two teams currently occupy, the Lions have another opportunity to ruin the Rockets’ season.

Despite last week’s success at South Adelaide (Kyle Miller 30 points, Lachlan Parker 24 points), the Lions are well and truly out of the finals race. However, this week’s fixture poses a great chance to shape the final five. The Rockets, with an 11-5 record, are battling for third with West Adelaide (11-5) and Norwood (10-6), and can ill-afford to drop this game.

The Rockets can still mathematically finish top of the ladder. However, they are realistically no chance at all after losing to Forestville last week. Luke Mapunda had a game-high 24 points, but did not receive enough offensive support.

In Round 8, the Rockets defeated the Lions 82-75. Mapunda and Pero Vasilijevic each scored 22 for the Rockets, while Miller had 18 for the Lions.

The Rockets are the only club the Lions have beaten in each of the last three seasons, so the Rockets need to be on their guard if they are to finally sweep aside their northerly rivals.

Forestville Eagles (12-4, 1st) v Southern Tigers (5-11, 8th)
Saturday July 28, 8.15pm at Wayville

The Forestville Eagles can take another step towards a Minor Premiership title if they can defeat the Southern Tigers on Saturday.

The Eagles were just barely inside the five at the half-way mark, but have turned it on since with seven straight victories. They defeated the North Adelaide Rockets 67-59 in Round 16. Neil Mottram (16 points) and Brad Sullivan (15 points) were the Eagles’ leading scorers.

Despite their recent success, the Eagles are level on wins with Sturt, only lead West and North by one game and are two wins higher than Norwood, whom they play in next week’s final regular season game. Therefore, it is critical the Eagles keep winning.

The Tigers are still yet to win back-to-back games since 2009 after losing to West last week. Michael Florance had a big night with 28 points, but no other Tiger scored more than Paul Carman’s 8 points.

Last time they met, the Eagles knocked off the Tigers 103-73 at Morphett Vale. Trent Fildes keyed a balanced Eagles attack with 23 points, while Tyler Tanis scored 21 for the Tigers.

This is a danger game for the Eagles, who struggled to put away another bottom five side in Centrals in their last home game, but theoretically they should win comfortably.

By James Woite