By James Woite

 

Woodville Warriors (17-5) v West Adelaide Bearcats (15-7)

Qualifying Final

This year’s Qualifying Final at St Clair will feature the same clubs as the 2014 Grand Final with the Warriors attempting to beat the Bearcats for the fifth time in six attempts.

The Bearcats wound up winning this regular season’s series with the Bearcats 2-1. On the opening weekend of the season at Adelaide Arena, the Warriors led by nine at half-time before holding on to win 74-71. Darren Ng had 21 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for the Warriors. David Sturner registered 18 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Bearcats. Mitchell Creek and Fraser Gehrich did not play for the Warriors, while Bearcat Peter Crawford was likewise not in uniform.

The battle at St Clair on April 11 was nowhere near as close. The Warriors jumped the Bearcats 30-7 in the first quarter and were up 57-19 by half-time. The final score was 96-62. Creek racked up 24 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Warriors. Blake Truslove had 18 points and 5 rebounds for the Bearcats, who were still without Crawford, as well as Kurtis Phillips, at that stage.

Although the Bearcats were without Truslove for the teams’ final regular season meeting on June 27, they did gain Phillips and Crawford. The Bearcats produced a 47 point turnaround, defeating the Creek and Gehrich-less Warriors 90-77 at Port Adelaide. Sturner contributed 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Bearcats. Ng went for 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.

In each match, the team with more rebounds and assists, along with a better shooting percentage, has ended up with the win. The Warriors committed 10 more turnovers across the series.

Both sides finished the regular season with seven wins from 10 games, although the Bearcats have been better over the last five, with four wins to the Warriors’ three.

 

 

North Adelaide Rockets (13-9) v Sturt Sabres (12-10)

Elimination Final

The Rockets will be chasing their first postseason victory since the 2007 Grand Final, when they host the Sabres in the Elimination Final at Hillcrest.

The Rockets have featured in six of the seven postseasons since their 2007 Premiership, but they have lost their past eight finals, including four Elimination Finals. Their most recent playoff defeat was against Centrals in the 2013 Elimination Final.

The Sabres will be playing in their first final since 2012. That year, they won the Second Semi Final against Forestville, but relinquished a large fourth quarter lead in the Grand Final, losing to the same opponent in overtime.

The Rockets have had the better of the Sabres this year. They won 77-68 at Pasadena on May 23, while they completed the regular season series sweep at Hillcrest 82-74 only last Saturday.

In the first matchup, Rocket Aric Miller had 25 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. For the Sabres, Jan Warbout contributed 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

In the second meeting, Miller again troubled the Sabres, registering 38 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals. Dylan Rawson had team highs of 19 points and 9 rebounds for the Sabres.

The Rockets shot four per cent better than the Sabres on May 23, and seven per cent better last Saturday. The Rockets have scored an extra 18 points from three point shots over the course of the two matches.

The Rockets have won three of their last five games, but only four of their past 10. The Sabres have won four from five, and seven from 10.