The Lions will be delighted from last weeks huge win at the Kardinya & now have a big chance to take one of the better sides at home. Basso have 2 changes with McKay & Harber back in to roll the dice on the O'Sullivan/Smith rink which probably needs some magic to kick start it into gear. The rest is pretty much unchanged which Basso have generally been quite good at, holding that consistency without the knee jerk changes week on week. Wanneroo have held the same 16 again & why wouldn't they considering the results so far. I believe they are the only team to have used 19 players so far up the R6, therefore only 3 player changes. Few changes within the 16 but that's a really nice stat to have & show some confidence in that bunch of players which must help.
Basso are close enough to selection for an upset here but they just need to tidy up the loose rinks to really trouble a strong Wanneroo side. They have lost 18 of a possible 24 rinks which is obviously why they're in the position they are in but there's actually some serious upside to those defeats when you dig down. The average loss is only 6 shoots across those 18 rinks which is extremely low, so low in fact that it's really just 1-2 ends for every loss, bare minimal margins. This is why, whether its this week over the next few, I can see them crawling off the basement & improving.
The Roo's probably just shave this one unless Basso can focus on each end to grind out a result. Basso need to watch out for the big scorers like Ward & Buchholz who'll want to get back to that wonderful winning unbeaten form.

The Roosters return to the fortress for a nice few games now & will be confident of a little purple patch if all goes well & this is as good a game as any to start off with a big win to start closing that gap to 5th spot.
Cockburn are similar to Basso only probably at a higher level in their abillty to get themselves very close a big Agg win only to fail late on. Last week they only lost by 12, 3 a few games before, 10 to Ossy Park & a little more to Sorrento (away) . They probably don't have the depth to be picking up a high number of rinks every week so they really need to close out a few more of those close games. The take-out from take is, Yes, they are very close to the mark & they must know that themselves.
All eyes on TePania/Brotherson whis weekend as they look to bounce back after the off week last week but good to see Marevich stepping up over the last 3 unbeaten games. Marevich has only lost 2 games over the 6 but the 2 draws hurt a little. Still to be running 4 from 6 with the loses only 4 & 5 shots, that rink are again very close to the mark for a top skippering spot. Sokol is settling into the skippering role after playing the first few games as a 2nd. Now running 50/50 from his 2 games which is a solid start but what it does show is courage from the Cockburn selectors to make a change but also to back a 2nd into a skippers spot instead of trying to teach an old dog new tricks.
Morley aren't doing as bad as the ladder suggests as they settle down after some early movements in rinks. They have gone through 21 players so far so it's not the highest by any stretch and they have some good ins over the last few weeks. They are still picking up nearly 1 rink per round & it's not the same rink every round either so if they can get 2 or 3 skippers firing on the same weekend they'll get that first win.

Easily game of the Round by a margin.....this game is huge in the context of both teams and possible the top 4. If Sorrento win then it's close to curtains for the rest. You think it might be early saying that & of course it is because who knows what can happens but running on current form, yes its game over & the rest may fight out for 2nd place. This isn't just based on this game but more on the next 4. Sorrento have 3 of the next 4 games at home but the one away is a tough visit to Warwick.
Now if we flip this upside down & forecast games from an Ossy Park perspective it also gets very interesting. If the Saints win this, then they have 3 of the next 5 games at home. In saying that, 1 of those away games is v Morley so without disrespect that could be deemed another home game. Therefore the Saints could have a massive purple patch ahead of only playing 1 'away' game v Wanneroo in R11....thats why this game is alot bigger than just this week. If the Saints get a big win they will be only 1 game behind Sorrento with the purple patch ahead & then another R16 chance when they play the Swans at home.....very interesting game ahead & any commentary feel free to send in to Mystic Jack & we'll publish.
Anyway enough of the crystal ball, back to this week. Sorrento are running hot after not dropping a rink in 2 Rounds & overall have only dropped 3 rinks out of 24 over the 6 Rounds, outstanding effort. Hard to single out any particular rink for the Swans as most are pulling weight when others don't as much week after week, so collectively a good effort.
The Saints are now very reliant on DiGiuseppe and there's significant merit in that as that rink has won 5 of 6 and only lost that 1 game by 4 shots. That rinks score difference hasb either carried the Agg or had a reasonable portion of the Agg each week, so the key for Sorrento is getting a good matchup on them to ensure the win. If either Sorrento can get a Lander/Loftus setup on DiGuiseppe/Weir then I think the rest will drift towards the Swans. Fantastic game to look forward to & good luck to all.

Hard to call this game if the River Rats didn't snatch that 84th end win last week as it would of been 3 loses in a row. Now that hasn't happened & the Kats lost in similar late minute fashion last week v Basso, then the pendulum swings back to Rossmoyne. The River Rats are sitting 3rd now but it's very tight from there to 5th so its an important one for them to win. Out of those 3 teams they have the lowest percentage, so the games are close but to their credit they are getting the big wins. From a finals perspective I'd like to see them on at least 44pts after R9 as you'd think they'll need 81pts+ to at least have a chance of playing finals. They way they are travelling they are spot on & on course nicely.
Kats also need a win here pretty badly as another loss & they'll be a target in getting stuck down into the dreaded bottom 4. With Cockburn having an easy few games ahead at home & Kardinya having a slightly tougher run they'll need at least 2pts if not the win. Fewings & Yates are currently doing most of the heavy lifting for the Kats & they'll need more input across the board to trouble Rossmoyne this weekend. Yates has only really lost 1 from 5, small margin wins but getting there nicely.
The River Rats are tight & Gollan & Pechell are travelling very well. They have only used 19 players across the 6 Rounds which normally shows a tight group which it seems like it is but having a look at the 2nd side & they are struggling near the bottom so the only concern is the depth in replacements for Rossmoyne but for the moment they don't need anything more than the 16 they have who are doing a superb job.
Hard not to fancy the River Rats to continue their gutsy winning way & can't see them dropping 2 in a row at home.

South Perth are back home this week & will look to wipe the slate clean after the bad start over the first 6 rounds. They play at home very well so they'll be quietly confident of getting an upset this weekend. Again a raft of changes with 4 across the board. Two of them are the PL players so that was expected but they lose another 2 quality players in Petrich & Santos. When you look at those 4 players, thats 4 skippers out which will certainly make a dent to the ability to deliver against a top side, even at home.
If the predictor is anything to go off, South Perth need to get motoring very promptly. I'm thinking, just to get to safety, they'll need to win nearly 8 of the next 12 games, which for any team that's only won 1 game, is going to be difficult but it needs to start this weekend at home. Even to stay out of automatic relegation & remain with a play-off chance they'll need 6-7 from those 12. And that goes similarly for Bassendean & probably Kardinya/Cockburn with 1 game less to win. The changes seem to be coming from the 3rd team with Havercroft/Skuza/Robertson/Owen but most of them have played in the 2nd's before. Reagan returns to skipper & he'll need a lift after losing 5 from 6, unfortunately he's not alone with Roelofs losing 4 from 6 which is a contrast to last year. From reports the front ends seem to be holding if not winning man on man so once their back end converts more they'll be getting a lot closer & overall are not losing by big margins, McRae is back in skippering which surely should help & has Bandy as 3rd so that's clearly the standout rink, which will hopefully matchup with Borkowski for the Millers to have a chance. They'll be pretty keen on getting the first home win of the season & will surely come out swinging.
Warwick have rung the changes too with 3 swaps as Newstead returns to his in/out weekly rotation. The changes are somewhat based around helping Ledingham as he slumps to a 2 from 6 record. However, there's also no real rink standout other than Borkowski running 4 from 6, as Hinge has had an incredible 4 DRAWS from 6 games, unsure if i've ever seen that before & Post has lost some close games to leave him at 50%. Warwick are not winning everything & definitely not losing but are hard to break down.
Interesting game ahead as the Millers are in finals mode now just to survive & Warwick need this win to hang onto the tail coats of the Top 4.