Division1White@hotmail.com
Here we go again week 3 round 4, if that makes sense. My heads still spinning from the first few weeks. It feels random with the regular use of ‘double scores’ & regular talk of home teams with long standing home records getting beaten as home track bullies & trying to understand how the hell Kats are nearly +100 shots up & 150% percentage after only 3 games. Then we’ve had a draw & 4 games finished within 4 shots which makes it tough to understand form week to week. Maybe it’s just going to be a season where good sides won’t travel well, although we’ve had 7 of 15 away wins so far so maybe I’ll just give up guessing for a few weeks & let the bowling gods decide.

MANNING v KARDINYA

MANNING
A Taylor, L Herbert, R Ker, J Moulton
P Smith, Graham O'Brien, P Herbert, N Rees
W Heldt, M Ellis, Glen O'Brien, S Lambert
S Perica, G Hogg, ???, A Macpherson
IN: A Taylor, ???
OUT: B Hogg, B Adams

KARDINYA
S Novak, B McGrechan, D Comrie, C Booth
B Henley, D Flintoff, P Larard, T Leahy
M Allen, M Ngui, H Vriezen, M Holt
D Radford, C Stokes, A Cocodis, M Monteiro
IN: No changes
OUT:

GAME OF THE ROUND: Come 5.30pm Saturday there will only be 1 left. Here we goes folks, we have a right top dog fight expected for R4. The only 2 unbeaten teams will go head to head to see who blinks first & who stays unbeaten on top of the ladder.
The way the first 3 rounds have gone then this outcome could have huge consequences for who goes top & gets the golden ticket back to PL. We said it last year too where Joondalup got the early jump on Basso in R2 or maybe R3 & even though everyone said there was plenty games left it took a dozen games to crawl back that Agg for Basso, so believe me this one is a biggy!!
Could not be more impressed by the Kats & absolute favs to win this one & going by the result of the season against Titans it’s nearly impossible to go against them here or basically any further games for the season. However, I think Cockburn did suit the Kats & 2 of their 3 games were at home whereas Eagles had 2 of 3 away. Why would we pick an Eagles side that got trashed by double scores by the Kats 2nd string side on the last game of 1 Blue last season, well because the Eagles smashed the Kats by double scores in R9 in the corresponding fixture. Yes Manning are playing a PL side here not the 2nd string so it certainly won’t be double scores although it was when the Kats came here R1 of PL last season. I’m rambling now trying to justify the upset but in summary I don’t fancy the Kats at Manning more than fancying the Eagles if that makes sense. This will be a blockbuster.
Manning 6 - 2

MOSMAN PARK v SAFETY BAY

MOSMAN PARK
C Hoffman, D Adams, J Pallett, M Van Bemmel
M Cranswick, K Stower, J Townsend, D Burges
M Robertson, T Cranswick, S Carmody, N Parker
S Swanson, R Kershaw, M Bright, A O'Sullivan
IN: M Weis
OUT: M Bright

SAFETY BAY
G Smith, S Foran, G Hodges, A Ballard
R Hall, S Hide, G Ogg, C Owen
C Carruthers, M Mortensen, J Thorington, J Hanafee
G Taylor, T Parker, J Brannan, T Bochat
IN: Z Boddy, T Southern
OUT: J Brannan, C Owen

Again considering the away upset here. The Bay scraped through the double header but importantly with points in the board & Mossies were less so convincing.
There was a lot to like about the Mossies Sat win at home but Basso didn’t frank that form when they got rolled at home the following day to Manning & Mossies didn’t show at Kardinya on the same day, getting smashed by double scores.
Only 6 shots in this fixture last year & hard to see much more this season. The Bay did win 4 on the road last year so they’ll fancy themselves away. Both sides have that weaker 4th rink which could cause an issue is exposed.
Safety Bay 6 - 2

GOSNELLS v BASSENDEAN

GOSNELLS
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BASSENDEAN
A Southern, R D'Souza, S Colegate, N Kirkup
B Dinnison, D Killisch Von Horn, D Blight, J Holman
E O'Sullivan, N Hall, G Malaspina, S Bermingham
S Jocelyn, T Lynch, A Britton, A Parravicini
IN: N Hall
OUT: N Strachan

Both sides have the minimum 1 win on the board & both might still be in shock after both dropped their double header games. The Kookaburras, up to last week, were very solid at home but those back end gaps this season are showing impact. Both sides are bedding in some changes early in the season so you’d imagine going with the home side might work best until sides settle down. Basso have dropped some winnable games but not by much so their defence is solid to keep them in games. This one should be close especially if the Lions get a good matchup on that weaker 4th Gosnells rink.
Yes Gosnells are not the same side as last year but they beat Basso’s top side here at home season before last but only by 4 shots. They should have enough fire power if they have recovered from last week.
Gosnells 6 - 2

LEEMING v DOUBLEVIEW

LEEMING
G Fewings, P Hickey, B Eather, R Bellis
K Vandersluys, P Boys, T Higham, W Birrell
G Ford, J Bowden, D Johnson, N Bennetts
J Newton, G Burgess, A Andersson, L Mundri
IN: No changes
OUT:

DOUBLEVIEW
B Heta, M Leed, D Hayden, N Feletti
D Cosgrove, M Marinko, G Papadopoulos, J Gilchrist
J Barry, M Fredericks, L Martin, F Williamson
C McKenna, M Young, B Conway, A Bloxham
IN: J Gilchrist, J Barry, B Conway
OUT: D Leed, E Johnson, R Leed

Pretty difficult to go against the Lions after the last few weeks debuting in 1 White. Winning 2 on the trot helps catapult them up the ladder & with 2 of 3 played away these are the key home games they’ll need to put a fellow 1 Blue’r to the sword.
The View were just superb in R3 so they’ll carry that confidence into this game knowing they topped 1 Blue North & Leeming didn’t for South. This one could be a genuine Finals contender for 4th Finals spot giving extra incentive on the result.
Leeming 6 - 2

ROSSMOYNE v COCKBURN

ROSSMOYNE
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COCKBURN
M Simunovic, L Onley Jnr, D Bandy, D Gurr
M Abonnel, J Ricci, B Blagaich, B Dropulic
J Marevic, I Mateljak, M Musulin, V Dropulic
W Tepania, P Brotherston, D Ravlich, J Kop
IN: L Onley Jnr
OUT: K Wylie

The River Rats have very marginally better than Titans by st least drawing a game but both remain winless heading into R4. Rossmoyne showed enough last season at home to see them safe but dropping their first 2 home games is a worry & if they go 0-3 at home this wkend, concerns will escalate as even going 6 from 9 at home won’t keep them safe without supplementary away wins.
I hear Rossmoyne have some bundling twine ready to hand out if the game is close around the 80th end which is wonderful sportsmanship in helping Titans not just their bundle in the last few ends, joking of course. Every game is very difficult to win, we know this well.
Both sides are struggling & the River Rats should be putting these home games away if they fancy staying up but Titans are in a world of early pressure trouble. Where they might have had the luxury previously of coming away with 2-3pts last season away they now need a minimum of 6pts here or it’ll be 6pts from the last available 32pts.
Cockburn 6 - 2