Sturt Sabres (4-2, 3rd) v Eastern Mavericks (0-6, 10th)
Saturday May 19, 6.30pm at Pasadena

The Sturt Sabres will be playing for their fifth win in as many outings when they host the winless Eastern Mavericks at the special time of 6.30pm.

The Sabres continued their winning form with an 81-60 road victory over Norwood in Round 6. Tom Daly, who is leading the Sabres in points (20.8), rebounds (9) and assists (6.2), dominated again against the Flames with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Nathan Kareta had a career-high 24 points, including 6/7 from downtown.

The Mavs fell just three points short of South last week, going down 82-85. The game looked over at 71-81 with 1.46 remaining, but the Mavs stormed home before unfortunately running out of time. Four Mavericks scored in double figures, including Ben Dearman (20), Daniel Lean (16), Will Smith (14) and Shane Breheny (11). Stuart Breheny, who was leading the team in scoring, registered his third straight single digit game, so will be looking for a big one this week.

Pasadena has been a happy hunting ground for the Mavs in recent times. The Mavs have won their last two away games against Sturt by an average margin of 2.5 points. The Sabres’ last home win against the Mavs was July 25, 2009, although they have beaten them twice on the road since then.

The Mavs were more than competitive versus a very good South Adelaide team, but they will likely struggle to make a contest against a Sabres team that is improving game by game.

West Adelaide Bearcats (4-2, 5th) v Southern Tigers (2-4, 8th)
Saturday May 19, 8.15pm at Port Adelaide

The West Adelaide Bearcats and Southern Tigers will both be hoping to bounce back from disappointing Round 6 displays when they meet at Port Adelaide on Saturday.

The Bearcats got off to a sloppy start against North, shooting just 6/23 from the field and trailing 13-24 at quarter-time. Although they were much better in the second and third quarters, they were blown away again in the fourth and eventually lost by 20.

Howard Salters Jr had a team-high 15 points and is averaging 16.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg on the season. However, Blake Truslove, who had averaged 16 ppg and 14.2 rpg in his first five matches, was hindered by foul-trouble and finished with just 4 points and 2 rebounds.

The Southern Tigers appear to be heading in the wrong direction very quickly. They have been blown away in their past two games, including a 66-97 home loss to Woodville last week, albeit without starting point guard Reece Turner. They were swept across the board and trailed by 32 after three quarters in their worst performance this season. Michael Florance (16 points) and Daniel Peacock (12 points, 8 rebounds) played well, but Tyler Tanis scored just 7 points, 10 less than his season average.

The Bearcats won the 2011 season series with the Tigers 2-0. The last time the Tigers beat the Bearcats was in their meaningless Round 18 match in 2010.

Theoretically, the Bearcats should win this one, though with each side’s Jekyll-&-Hyde form, anything is possible.

Woodville Warriors (4-1, 2nd) v Norwood Flames (3-3, 7th)
Saturday May 19, 8.15pm at St Clair

The Woodville Warriors will look to further prove their championship credentials when they play host to a team that knows all about just that, the Norwood Flames.

The Warriors are sitting in second position with a pretty 4-1 record, and enter this game following their biggest win of the season against the Tigers. They led in all the major statistical categories, including a +13 edge in rebounds. Gary Birmingham had a season-high 23 points in just 19 minutes of court time, so could see some increased action this week. Adam Miller added 17 points.

What is impressive with the Warriors is their depth. They have no less than 10 players averaging at least 5.8 ppg, and they also have five players averaging 5.8 rpg or more. Zane Reeves leads the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (8 rpg).

In contrast, the Flames are relying on too few to get the job done, and have now dropped to seventh with a 3-3 record. They actually led the Sabres at half-time last week, but were crushed 19-43 thereafter. Again, much of the burden was left to Keith Krause (21 points, 15/16 FT) and Todd Matthews (12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals), the team’s two leading scorers by some distance.

Last season, the Flames swept the Warriors 2-0. In fact, this has been the case every year since 2006. In total, the Flames have won their last 11 against the Warriors.

It has been a long time between drinks for the Warriors regarding this head-to-head matchup, but it is surely time for them to break their duck.

Central District Lions (1-5, 9th) v South Adelaide Panthers (4-2, 4th)
Saturday May 19, 8.15pm at Starplex

The visiting South Adelaide Panthers will be hoping to extend their winning run to five games by making it five straight losses for the Central District Lions on Saturday.

In Round 6, the Panthers held off a fast-finishing Eastern to move up to fourth on the ladder. Damion Scanlon is fast-emerging as an MVP candidate, racking up 26 points and 12 rebounds against the Mavs. He is averaging 22 ppg (51% FG, 38% 3FG, 83% FT) and 5.2 rpg in six appearances. Kyle Howe-Tipene added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Lions now boast both the lowest score for and the highest score against, after giving up 110 points to Forestville in a 34 point defeat. Luke Frost tried hard for 20 points and 6 rebounds, while Matthew Clarke scored 17 points, including 5/6 3FG. Kyle Miller, who averaged 29.5 ppg the first four weeks, was held to just 7 points for the second successive game.

The Panthers took the honours against the Lions both times last season. The Lions’ last win over the Panthers was July 25, 2009.

The Panthers showed signs of shakiness against the lowly Mavs, so on that note the Lions are a chance of pinching this one, but only if they can play both ends. 

Forestville Eagles (3-3, 6th) v North Adelaide Rockets (4-1, 1st)
Saturday May 19, 8.15pm at Wayville

In the Match of the Round, reigning champions the Forestville Eagles have a must-win game against 2012 league-leaders the North Adelaide Rockets.

The Eagles are already a game behind Sturt, South and West, having lost to two of those sides, and a loss here could see them two games back by the end of the round. They looked like the premiers of yesteryear last week, registering 110 points in a road win over Centrals, the most points scored by a team this season.

Brad Sullivan had a game-high 23 points, including 6/10 3FG, while Trent Fildes and Brad Haydon each scored 20. Majok Deng added 17 points, while Rashad Tucker got the job done in the assist department with 8. The Eagles have six players overall who are averaging at least 10 ppg this season.

The Rockets were not bad offensively either in Round 6, scoring 94 points to West Adelaide’s 74. Edward Millard shone with 27 points, while Brandon Brine and Pero Vasilijevic chipped in with 22 and 18 respectively. Luke Mapunda was also good with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

The win maintained the Rockets’ position at the top of the ladder. The Rockets are likewise capable of spreading the load, with five players averaging between 9.4 ppg and 24.3 ppg.

The Rockets have enjoyed playing away in recent seasons, and Wayville has to be one of their favourite buildings. They have won three of their last four at Wayville, with their only loss coming in the 2010 Elimination Final. Last season, they swept the Eagles 2-0.

The Rockets appear to be the stronger of the two teams at the defensive end, and with ‘away court advantage’, they should start favourites.

By James Woite