GAME OF THE ROUND: It's probably failr to say that most will expect to see these 2 fighting it out in Finals so this will be a great barometer to set the tone for the season.
Safety Bay are welcomed back after their ‘gap year’ where they hopefully learned more from bowls than winning means everything. The elusive 1 wedding dance season seems to repeat itself with The Bay but credit to the club they keep reinventing themselves to give the club every chance in getting bank to PL year after year. Eventually it’ll stick but not for the moment.
Joondalup specialised in the Dolphin flop last season. You could have put your house on them during the season but like an old kettle when the heat increased they went whistling off in a panic with no ticket to the big dance in sight. They’re got the talent it’s just needs a little confidence run & a few leaders.
Both sides are similar in parts to the last few years but if were to roll Joondalup back 2yrs to now, their 16 probably looks a little more varied than The Bays 16. The step up to PL is significant so I feel The Bay will feel more than comfortable ‘back home’.

Difficult game to call as Manning couldn’t have finished the season any better winning the flag, finishing flat out like a lizard drinking but no cigar. Well they probably did have the cigar but just no way to go. We have run hypothetical scenarios like these for many years but it’s been a long long time since one of the big clubs took a flag with no reward. For this reason I’m going with the Eagles purely in the basis of they & Leeming had nothing to play for in the Grand Final as the Lions were already up due to the 2 team rule & nobody would have blamed the Eagles for tooling down but they doubled down instead & grabbed an incredible flag in a very competitive 1 White.
The Pioneers are welcomed to 1 White this season after a few strong seasons knocking on the door. The gap is reasonable but they have recruited well. Rumours were they haven’t touched the grass much last week but have made every effort to speed it up probably earlier in the week for Saturday. Good on them for starting the tactics early but ‘smart talk won’t pour the concrete mate’.
Pioneers need to lock away the home games early so I think their energy levels will be high throughout the day as they’ve been dreaming of this game for many years. They’ve every chance & could easily take the chocs but given the Manning recruitment over the off-season it’s a difficult one to call as the Eagles will be stronger from last season but as per usual it’s difficult to discuss the exact nuances of team selection because the Eagles still struggle to find the ‘On’ button to their computer to log selection on Bowls WA on time. Honestly how hard can it be to lodge selections of a side that had only 6 changes all last season over 18 games but every week it’s the scary suspense of late lodgement to only lodge the same bloody names as the previous 17 weeks in a row. Whoever is doing selections please do not apply to Penn & Teller, it’s not magic mate!

The Cougars are back in 1 White after a few years rebuilding & a few close calls they’re itching for the challenge.
Wouldn’t it be great if Pam & co got to reenact Kill Bill with some girl power over the Cougars Brandsma rink just like the selections sit on Bowls WA. It just might swing on these games as both have 2 very solid rinks so the matchups will be key. For me Bartlett’s a loss that Cougars need to fill early rather than creating a weak rink for the season.
Overall both sides are coming off different momentum swings. Yes Ossy Pk are deemed favs for the PL with Manning & Mt Lawley but for me I’m not seeing the impact this bullish attitude has on 1 white. It’s more 1 in, 1 out & suddenly the Saints are genuine PL contenders. Maybe so, but it’s not coming through on the 2nd side for me anyway. Yes either side could take this but this Saints side hasn’t played up the hills for many many years so the home side seem the better bet.

Again 2 sides coming from different forms of momentum. The beach boys come down after circling the drain for a few years & the Reds circled their own drain last year but benefited from a little back flush to survive the drain late & hopefully thrive this year.
North Beach will keep doing what they do well & that’s dominant at home. It’s unlikely that that which worked so well at the top level won’t be worth repeating for at least another 1-2 games more in 1 White. I see them winning at least 11 for the season & playing Finals.
Let’s be honest we all just want to see 1 game McGinlay v Such…please let the cards fall that way & best man takes the chocs. I believe the North Beach website front page reads (with a pic of Joe)…’It’s not Easter yet but the Messiah of North Beach returns’ & with that a Scottish International has returned home from Cambridge. Usually many return home from ‘Cambridge’ with an highly accredited education, however, this Cambridge experience seemed more of just that, an experience. Not so tough one to call, Beach Boys in the bag with scar tissue.

The Kats return through the revolving door to the magic kingdom of 1 Red. Albeit the back door for them as they struggle to hold the talent to really keep them where they lived for so many years in top flight. Again it’ll be super difficult to not see them get 12-ish wins for the season so they’re straight into Finals for me.
However Mossies have done ok over the years at the Kats but it tends to be a major upset or a steam roller. They have the ability to make this very competitive & the Kats are not necessarily offering anything massively different than what Mossies have seen many seasons before last years ‘gap year’ for the Kats.
No major additions to either side over the off season but a few minor movements that might spark change. Tough call & I do see a few grabbing Aggs at Kardinya this season but this one will go down to maybe a blow out rink to favour the home side.