West Adelaide's men and women feature in two cracking double headers over the next two weeks, both of which could make legitimate claims for "matchup of the season".
 
Their first combatant is the Sabres, who host the Bearcats at Pasadena. The men's game could signal the point in the season at which Sturt go from "likely finalists" to "title favourites". Adding an NBL player at round 7 has the potential to cause minor hiccups, but if 36er Jacob Holmes suits, expect the Sabres' fortunes to change drastically for the better. Last week's loss to Forestville has an asterisk due to the absence of 8 players but prior to that, Sturt's star was already on the rise. Darren Ng is in good form, Marcus Ng played his part in the end-game against Woodville and with Mark Paget's return from overseas, the Sabres now have a formidable lineup.

Those who followed last year's season might be surprised by the apparent rise in fortunes of the West Adelaide's men's program. It is difficult to gauge how much of this is due to the many injuries suffered last year and how much is genuine improvement but either way, the Bearcats only blemish is a four point loss to 2008 champions Norwood. A full strength Sturt will test them, as will Forestville the following week, but West has fielded a very consistent lineup to date, and apart from the loss to the Flames, no team has been within single figures of them. Point guard Ryan Kersten features in the top 5 in the league in scoring, and with Blake Truslove and Shane Crothers forming one of the biggest front courts in the league, the Bearcats have strength across the board.

The women's matchup should be no less impressive. Sturt were within half a second of knocking off arch-rival Forestville last week, and this was without their two top scorers Angela Marino and Monique Bowley. Caroline Burgess is averaging 15 points per game (higher than any of her previous 9 years in the Central ABL) and Brigid Bowley, who returned from overseas just before the game, will be better for the week in Adelaide. If Marino returns, this may be the best chance any team has had of beating the undefeated Bearcats.

There is no denying it - West Adelaide did not handle the break well. Last week they ground out a tough 8 point win over Woodville, after heading into the last quarter in arrears, and similar form against Sturt would be unlikely to produce the same result. Sam Woosnam, Nikki Martin and Trudy Holland feature strongly in points, rebounds and assists, and if you add veterans Emma Pawlowski and Kate Walsh into the mix, the Bearcats boast arguably he deepest group in the competition. Prior to round 7, West's average winning margin was a whopping 31 points, but games against finals contenders Sturt, Forestville and Southern will give a better indication of their level.