Forestville Eagles (13-5, 3rd) v Central District Lions (12-6, 4th)
Saturday August 18, 6.30pm at Wayville

Will lightning strike twice or will it be a night of revenge?

That is the question ahead of the First Semi Final between the Forestville Eagles and Central District Lions at Wayville on Saturday.

Rewind to the night of August 13, 2011. It’s the Eagles, the two-time reigning champions, up against the Lions, winless in 2010, in an Elimination Final. The Lions led by nine at quarter-time, before extending their lead to 10 by the half and 11 a quarter later. One of the biggest upsets in finals history was just about complete.

But 10 minutes is a long time in basketball. As AFL commentator Dennis Cometti once said, “If somebody told me I had 10 minutes to live, I’d want them in NBA minutes.” During this time, the Eagles outscored the Lions 18-4 for a season-defining 54-51 victory. The Eagles went on to win a third straight premiership, whereas the Lions were left to lament what might have been.

Fast-forward to August 18, 2012. Once more, the Eagles and Lions will meet at Wayville in the finals. Again, it is curtains for the loser – albeit a week deeper into the postseason.

This time, the Lions are more experienced at playing in such big matches. They played for their season against the Mavericks last week, doing enough to secure a 71-59 victory.

The Lions trailed by a point at quarter-time, but outscored the Mavericks 43-23 over the next two quarters. The main difference between the two teams was in taking care of the ball. The Lions did not shoot the ball as well as the Mavericks, but forced 25 turnovers, while committing only 12 themselves. They also did a great job in limiting Mavericks star Tess Madgen to just 17 points on 7/25 shooting.

Elizabeth Keane top-scored for the Lions with 23 points, while grabbing 8 boards as well. Jess Mahony added 18 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Taya Crockford was also productive with 10 rebounds and 9 points.

The Eagles would not be thrilled with being in this position, after a disappointing 65-74 loss to North Adelaide in the Qualifying Final. The Eagles won three of the four quarters, and even held a commanding 39-27 half-time lead. However, they came crashing down with an 8-30 third period.

Jess Fergus played all 40 minutes and finished with a team-high 17 points. Carla Borrego added 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Olivia Thompson was held to a career-low 10 points.

The regular season matchups between these sides have been dictated by defence. In their first encounter back in Round 6, the Lions held on for a 62-59 victory. At that point, the Lions had D’Lesha Lloyde in the line-up, who scored a game-high 25 points. Desinta Cummins added 14. For the Eagles, Thompson finished with 24 points and 13 boards.

The Eagles squared the ledger in Round 15 with a 65-54 triumph. Thompson and Borrego each had double-doubles, as did Mahony and Keane.

Expect a tight game, although it is difficult to go past an Eagles side that has lost just once at home (in overtime) all season.

By James Woite