Saturdays round 16 match by top of the table leaders South and North has the makings of a genuine blockbuster.
South have a 2 game buffer and a win will guarantee the minor premiership and direct passage to the GF on September 8th. A loss and North will close the gap to one game with two games remaining, and West more than capable of causing the upset!
Add the circumstances of the week with the SFC rocked by the tragic loss of an U/18's player and North's preparing for their old timers weekend ...and this game has the potential to be electric!
Add the form of both sides with South's thrashing Centrals by 119 points and North's smashing West by 98 points and clearly both sides are in great form.
South have found a second avenue to goal recently with Benjamin Jones snagging 5 last week whilst Ty Corey has been a regular multiple goal kicker all year. South's engine room has been solid all year with Marc Purcell a genuine chance for a Lionel Johnson Medal whilst Bill Dolan has returned from injury to star over the last 3 weeks.
In Drew Hardy South may well have the recruit of the year and he appears to be peaking at the business end of the season.
North's were also super impressive last week with Captain Codie Howard having a day out with 8 whilst the "whiz" Anthony Henderson bagged 7 in the 98 point rout of West. The hit out for North's was a timely return to form however West had at least ten first choice players out injured or working so rest assured both South and North would love to finish the minor round as minor premiers and avoid the sudden death final.
The two teams have met 5 times in 2012 with North's winning the first two encounters by 34 & 56 before South broken through to win the last 3 contests by 47, 14 & 27 points.
With so much at stake this Saturday the "script"would suggest a nail biting epic will unfold in what looms as a preview of the 2012 grand final....lets hope we get a big crowd at the Jube, especially the former Bulldogs longing for another "spray" from Ray Giblett who will be back to celebrate 20 years on from the 1992 Premiership!
Last Modified on 08/08/2012 23:55