Interesting round ahead of us this week. Some critical matches that will help shape promotion/relegation outcomes come the end of the season.
From a tipster’s perspective this round is the most difficult to predict for some time Let’s have a quick look:
KARDINYA v FORRESTFIELD
KARDINYA
I Barrie, G Knight, M Ayres, M West
G White, D Wood, L Phillips, J Edgar
N Ball, R Knapp, A McCullagh, W Lee
C Vinci, S Vinci, R McNamara, S Garner INS: No changes OUTS:
FORRESTFIELD
T Tillemans, C Holland, A Fewings, F Gore
B Wicks, M Garner, J Forrest, H Rabey
R Tillemans, M Vatri, L Stedman, L Delcaro
R Cummings, R Carr, J Tillemans, D Croft INS: C Holland OUTS: J Weppner
Both teams with aspirations for a top 3 finish. Kardinya coming off a season best performance at Vic Park last week and with a significant home ground advantage in this match. I have a lot of time for Forrestfield as well and they are always competitive in every match they play. I do think Forrrestfield are a sneaky chance to cause an upset but at home Kardinya should be feeling very confident and expect them to end up on top.
Kardinya 6-2
DALKEITH NEDLANDS v VICTORIA PARK CARLISLE
DALKEITH NEDLANDS
L Richardson, R Moran, M Green, R Kelly
M Saunders, R Stapleton, T Allen, P Jeanes
Jesse Brown, M Zusman, S Gazia, B Owen
A Foster, D Redeckis, D Fitzgerald, M Joyce INS: R Stapleton, M Zusman OUTS: R Rose, D Hyde
VICTORIA PARK CARLISLE
G Wishart, P Keeffe, R Johnson, J Hiskins
L Such, A Daley, P Long, G Archell
G Beckwith, L Beurteaux, M White, J Jermalinski
D Florance, M Simms, G Williams, C McKay INS: No changes OUTS:
Dalkeith battling away and to date have acquitted themselves well back in one Blue this season. Unbeaten at home and with 2 home matches lost due to cancellations during the season they have performed well. They will fancy their chances this week and need this win to feel a little safer about surviving next season. To do so they will have to slay the giant in Vic Park who will be stung by the loss lat week against Kardinya. I expect that this was just a temporary lapse and they will bounce back strongly this week. Could Dalkeith cause an upset - they could but in the end I am going with the class and experience of Vic Park to win another close match.
Vic Park 6-2
THORNLIE v ROCKINGHAM
THORNLIE
E Gollan, R Carruthers, P Riggio, A Payne
N Holden, J Stean, J Mitchell, L Curtis
M Yates, C Penaluna, P De Meuse, G Vaughan
D Slade, M Separovich, M Forrester, A Williams INS: L Curtis OUTS: H Collins
ROCKINGHAM
B Edwards, J Lethlean, K Tremlett, T Rubery
M Devenny, P Villa, I Barrett, S Wales
L Atkins, G Roberts, I Wright, D Poole
M Simpson, S Currie, T Threlfall, K Fyles INS: No changes OUTS:
Another great match on the cards here - with Rockingham in particular in with a great chance of a top 3 finish. They have generally performed well away from home and this will be a very tough away test for them at Thornlie. Unfortunately for Thornlie the loss last week makes it hard for them to reach a top 3 position but with 2 home games to go they would still give themselves a sneaky chance. Another hard match to predict but Thornlie have been very strong at home recently and I will tip them this week.
Thornlie 7-1
WARNBRO v KALAMUNDA
WARNBRO
J Radford, B Taylor, T Williams, S Christie
T Dellar, K Cousens, M Jaworski, D Kimberley
B Kalinowsky, D Watson, L Blechynden, D Fitzpatrick
Dr G Jackson, T Ball, B McDougall, P Hartnett INS: P Hartnett OUTS: L Kellow
KALAMUNDA
I Cornthwaite, D Park, B Farrant, D Connell
W Olive, D Wooltorton, C Smeeton, M Thomas
A Bartlett, P Keating, G Trevaskis, B Solly
B Brandsma, M Gill, A Brandsma, M Clancy INS: M Gill OUTS: G McDonald
Speaking of important matches they don’t come much bigger than this one. Warnbro needing to continue their winning streak at home to get themselves to safety. Kalamunda were once title contenders and a loss here could see them slip out of the all important 2nd place. Who to pick? One thing in Kalamunda’s favour is the leadership of Bill Brandsma throughout the season. Bill will hop off the plane after his week coaching the Perth Suns. He would have spent the week talking with Blake Nairn so hopefully he arrives home without a headache. Hard to tip against Warnbro at home but I am going to and back Kalamunda to bounce back.
Kalamunda 5-3
SOUTH PERTH v FREMANTLE
SOUTH PERTH
M Petrich, P Holmes, R Negus, G Bovell
S Kelly, F Anderson, B Roelefs, S West
D Mortley, G Reagan, D Reagan, G Bennett
W Bezant, T Percival, J Terrell, S Masterson INS: S West, G Bennett OUTS: J Cunningham, T Reid
FREMANTLE
P Wachmer, J Smith, G Harling, B Wright
S McCormack, J Chessell, A Gale, E Lacy
D Golem, J F Stewart, M Conway, R McGuffie
K Atkins, B Sumich, N Gaspar, N Mulligan INS: B Sumich, M Conway OUTS: B Ciccotosto, S Hewett
And now for our final match that has all the elements to be called match of the season. Pressure on all players with a loss likely to seal the fate of the loser whereas a win will provide another week of hope for the winner. Rumour has it that Dinko and Jimmy (in addition to arranging extra training sessions during the heat of the day) have been putting together a banner that the Freo team will run thru prior to the start of the match. Brian Ciccotosto would have loved this but he is an out this week. They are doing everything possible to get some emotion and feeling into their bodies before the match starts - lets hope there are no injuries and lucky that Doc Mortley will be on standby. He has requested that all Fremantle players bring their medicare cards with them this week. And then the match will get underway. I have some bad news for Freo the grim reaper could be coming there way and expect South Perth to come away with the points.
