We missed the review for R14 so lets get a quick recap before tomorrow's R15. Kats dropped another critical one at home of all places (no surprise there) to give Warwick a good look at survival. Safety Bay dished out another near 50pt drumming to Quinns, who continued that dreaded away form. No team last year conceded more than 100pts twice & this is Quinns 3rd 100+ shots conceded. Morley only won 1 game all season last year & only conceded 1 100+shot game. The year before it was Armadale who conceded a whopping 100+ 4 times but also finished with the wooden spoon. So it will be hard to see Quinns get out of 7th with 2 of the last 4 games against the top 2 sides. Bassendean found it very difficult against a clinical Mosman Park where the Mossies grabbed a huge 7pts. Gosnells put some critical space between them & 7th spot but easing past the Saints as expected.
And last but certainly not least the Wizards pulled out some serious magic to topple the ladder leaders & bunch the top 4 tighter than a pub's servicing counter after lockdown. There's only half a point between the top 2 & that came from that game with 1 draw. Could this get any more exciting?!!
Right back onto this weekend. I think everyone now is even with home/away games from here to R18 so it's perfectly balanced & I'm betting on those with the best away form as they should do the business at home. To see there's everything to play for has got to be the greatest understatement of the season. 4.5pts separate the Top 4, yes the Top 4!!! And guess who has the best percentage, you guessed it....4th spot but they only hold it by 8shots. So after playing accumulating 1200 shots in the season so far for the top sides, there are only 8 shots in the difference?!
Then from 6th to 8th, there's only 2.5pts, it's a cliffhanger on who'll go down into the playoffs spot as Warick now pull themselves out of the automatic relegation & I think they are now safe for a playoff spot & that's the best they could have wished for after R10.
If I was forced to make a 1 sentence prediction from here in loose commentary, it would be: Wanneroo are looking great to maintain top spot, Mosman Park have Warnbro & Safety Bay on the run home, Warnbro have Mossies but if the Roo's so much as leave a scrap on the table it'll be hoovered up by the Wizards & Safety Bay have Quinns away from which means winning 1 away game all season should not great you a ticket to the big dance.
Game on for all this weekend, good luck.
WARWICK v WARNBRO
WARWICK
L Hill, G Smith, M Golding, D Herbert
G Hinge, B McNamara, R Newstead, R Loran
B Ledingham, C Boyle, K Pearce, D Dunstan
J Borkowski, A Hornby, A Henneker, I Sparrowhawk IN: R Newstead OUT: A Dixon
WARNBRO
K Cousens, T Dellar, J Pattullo, P Guelfi
W Baker, D Pattullo, I Gibson, B Starling
L Strange, Dr G Jackson, A Shone, D Phillips
S Mawdsley, K Bancroft, M Rae, D Kitson IN: No changes OUT:
The magpies are cruising, yes I said cruising as its 3 from 4 whereas before that is was 2 from 9. A pair of huge games over the last few weeks & if they beat Safety Bay in R13, why can't they beat Warnbro at home too? There is a good, albeit slim, that the Magpies can go 3 in a row & if they do they have a decent chance of getting right out of trouble if others lose.
Up to last week, the Wizards dropped 3 of 4 but they got back into the winners circle in fine fashion last weekend & they are looking good for a final push. If they do not win this it's hard to see them taking top spot as they have a super tricky R17 fixture still to deal with.
Warnbro 7 - 1
QUINNS ROCKS v KARDINYA
QUINNS ROCKS
R Cantrill, A Barker, T Hines, R Thomas
C Parr, D Rogers, C Bartle, S Newbey
M Hinchcliffe, S Smith, T Burrows, S Cavanagh
J Berecz, B Crawford, R Cole, L Johnson IN: T Park, P Wernicke OUT: R Cole, D Rogers
KARDINYA
S Vinci, G Fewings, C Vinci, M Holt
J Rochford, R McNamara, D Wood, J Edgar
C Stokes, N Ball, C Booth, W Lee
W Bezant, R Knapp, K Stower, G Knight IN: D Regan, G Wake OUT: C Vinci, D Wood
Quinns will be itching to get home & get some points on the board. They were probably unlucky in R13 with the washout but these things happen. This is basic bread & butter for them & they need the full 8pts here if they really want to survive. Where Finals briefly flashed before them, it's now a distant memory as the cut throat structure of 1 White consumes those who do not keep the ladder ticking over with regular points. Survival is well within reach & I'm sure they'll be right there until the last bowl in R18 fighting with their strong spirit.
The only good thing for the Kats is their away record is way better than their home record but this might be a step too far, however if they do not get the Agg here they are almost certainly going down.
Warnbro 7 - 1
WANNEROO v OSBORNE PARK
WANNEROO
D Turra, E Widermanski, B Nelson, B McMurdo
K Toster, D Griffin, G Jack, H Whitman
H Ward, M Nievelstein, G Sarich, R Burns
D Triffitt, L Bryson, N Palmer, J Tailor IN: B Nelson, R Burns, N Palmer OUT: P Firth, B Bucowski, I Halhead
OSBORNE PARK
J Carter, C Fleay, B Boyd, I Bryden
F Di Giuseppe, R Clark, B Poggi, T Evans
M Pasalich, P Allen, A Pasalich, L Bell
T Ingram, G Smith, C Taboni, M Swift IN: B Poggi, C Taboni OUT: J Minchin, A Garlick
The Roo's are now running 1 from 3 & 3 from 7, which isn't the form a top team heading for the PL is looking for. In saying that, they are still on top, even if it's only by 0.5pt. They'll be kicking themselves after last week when a win would have sealed their top spot & made it very difficult to catch with 4 to go. They ring in some changes with 3 across the front ends. Eitherway, they'll need to do it 4-0 from here & only hope they get more 7-1 or 8-0 Aggs than Mossies or Warnbro. It is pretty tough for any team to think even winning your last 4 games when you are sitting top still might not get you into the PL.
The Saints are sitting fish here but so thought a few other teams in the 2nd half of the season & boy did some teams regret that relaxed approach to the bottom side. Can the Saints even make playoffs, no but can they give some top sides a right headache, absolutely. Roo's be aware, the Saints come to play on good grass.
Wanneroo 7 - 1
BASSENDEAN v GOSNELLS
BASSENDEAN
N Smith, J Morss, M Potente, N Kirkup
T Lynch, B Tie, W Davidson, D Snelgar
A Caccioppoli, E O'Sullivan, G Needs, M Bessant
R Revell, B Dinnison, H Goddard, T Parravicini IN: B Dinnison, E O'Sullivan, D Snelgar OUT: M Erceg, M Watson, T Alden
GOSNELLS
G Nicol, S Harris, N Tulett, D Bradbury
B Holland, G Lynch, T Auckland, M Rickard
E Gahan, P Gale, I Farley, C Watters
F Carbone, C Hickinbotham, P Deas, R McKay IN: I Farley OUT: T Close
If the Lions lose this, they are in right trouble for another year of playoff nerves. Like Quinns they had a brief view of Finals & like that its looking at Playoff finals instead. Basso need more than 3 from the last 10 to keep them safe & they'll find it very tough against a good Kookaburrah's side.
I don't mind Gosnells away, as they are running 3 from 7 even though it was against the weaker sides. Gosnells have done ok this year & played some great games but the next 4 games may not get them into Finals but it will create a foundation for next year if they win 3 of 4.
Tough game to call but I think the home side might edge it but I can’t see more than 9 shots in this one.
Bassendean 6 - 2
MOSMAN PARK v SAFETY BAY
MOSMAN PARK
C Hoffman, M Cranswick, T Cranswick, R Kershaw
D Marsland, S Swanson, W Tan, O Dawson
L Beurteaux, S Edmonds, D Adams, M Van Bemmel
S Jocelyn, A Gryta, M Robertson, T Massang IN: S Edmonds OUT: P Fair
SAFETY BAY
C Owen, R Kennedy, P Daynes, S Gallon
C Carruthers, Z Boddy, G Wilkes, S Foran
G Taylor, S Hide, G Ogg, L Piper
R Hall, A Holmes, J Thorington, S McBriar IN: No changes OUT:
Huge game here for both sides. If the Bay do not win this, I will find it hard to see them taking top spot but if they win it, then it's game on from here.
Mossies do not have an easy run home but any hard games are at home so it should ease the burden. It’s hard to fault Mossies at home but there’s probably a few too many tight games than they would prefer but there are getting over the line.
I would easily back Safety Bay as a quality side against another quality side but winning 1 from 7 away just totally discounts the upset for me. Not saying they cannot beat Mossies given so much is on the line & they have done superb this year overall but lets see.
