Entering round 9, the white-hot Sabres and Rockets women will battle it out for half-way bragging rights of the 2008 Central ABL season.

In the men’s competition, Norwood are confirmed as mid-season leaders, though the outcome of this weekend’s games will determine whether they share the mantle with Forestville and/or North.

Opals hopeful Renae Camino is yet to log a CABL minute with Sturt, however the Sabres have been in great form without her. Apart from a mid-April glitch against Southern heading into a three week break, the Sabres have been solid and steady, with Angela Marino, Monique Bowley and Hannah Bowley in impressive form.

This weekend they face Mike McKay’s surprising Rockets who, with a relatively young lineup, have amassed a league-leading 7 and 1 record, with a good spread of scorers led by Jenah Piwanski, Lauren Mansfield and Ali Trewartha. This has all happened without the services of Olympian Jo Hill who, as in previous years, joins the team this week after the completion of her season in Spain.

Norwood’s men torched Forestville with a 41 point first quarter last week, helped by some great shooting from player-of-the-week Keith Krause and Andrew Webber, who has recently returned from a college stint in the US. Norwood have now claimed the scalps of other high-fliers North Adelaide and Forestville, giving them a significant advantage in the race for the minor premiership, and corresponding week off in the first week of the finals.

While many have subconsciously divided the men’s ladder into 3 and 7, South has quietly slipped into 4th place on the back of good form from Justin Halleran, Luke Frost and Mark Fuller, and with only two wins less than their entire total for 2007, are only a game behind Forestville. Should the Panthers defeat the Eagles at Wayville on Saturday, they’ll move into equal 3rd, and set themselves up for a great run at the finals. Given that Forestville has not beaten South since July 2006, this outcome is not out of the question.