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Had a bit of time so I thought I’d do a mid-season review. As always these are just my opinions and are only based on everyone's games against us.

the bye could really affect teams in the home stretch.
Kenwick and East Fremantle have only 3 home games left while Ellenbrook and Ballajura have only 3 away games left everyone else has 4 and 4.

Kenwick 7-1
Reserves 3rd 6-2
I won’t say too much about our season so far so as to not sound conceited or anything like that. We know we haven’t achieved anything yet and are looking to continue the form we have into the next round of games. Our reserves should recover after what could be considered an upset against Cockburn and are looking to make a push as well.

Brentwood Booragoon 7-1
Reserves 8th 3-5
Brentwood have some very handy players all over the park who are willing to run for each other. Their skills under pressure are very good and their structures around stoppages and Contests at times gives them easy outs as they know where their teammates are going to be. They will definitely be right up there at the end of the year. The ladder shows their reserves are 8th but with the log jam in the middle of the ladder they are equal 5th and having colts and a thirds team I wouldn’t say depth is an issue.

Ballajura 6-2
Reserves 2nd 6-2
Ballajura had a very interesting forward line setup when we played them leaving one out in the goal square and the other 5 forwards on the half forward line. It threw us a bit and they managed to get some easy goals when the ball came in quickly allowing the other forwards to flow down for the crumbs. They suffered a loss Dianella Morley last round meaning with their bye this weekend they could be 2 games behind the top 2 if those two win their games. With their very fit and mobile reserves they will have no struggles through the grind and are another side that will look to make a dent later on in the season in both grades.

Dianella Morley 5-3
Reserves 5th 3-5
Could be considered a dark horse side considering their up and down season, this team has a number of very slick ball movers and forwards that can kick bags if you let them have their way. They know how to play with each other rarely competing for the same ball and always leaving a few runners down which if players overcommit to the contest can cause quick scores. Their reserves are the top of the log jam for 5th and will hope to knock of the other teams in the group to consolidate a finals spot

Swan View 5-3
Reserves 6th 3-5
Swan view are a hard side to get a read on they don’t blow you away with speed or skill but work hard for each other and have shown in their game against Brentwood that they can match the top sides on their day. This is not a side to take lightly or they could knock anyone off. Their reserves are another side in the group hunting 5th this team will be hoping to put a gap in to make them not have to worry about their last round bye knocking them out of the finals.

Cockburn Lakes 3-5
Reserves 4th 4-4
Cockburn seem to be a side who can push anyone on the day especially at home but have just run into a group of better sides this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take a few scalps by the end of the season and aren’t too far back to be eyeing swan views 5th spot after only losing to them by 7 in round one. Their reserves towelled our reserves on Saturday so they are definitely right in the mix. That win puts them a game clear of the 4 teams in 5th and reduces the gap to 2nd to 2 games. They certainly aren’t out of reach of a double chance though results will have to go their way.

Ellenbrook 2-6
Reserves 1st 8-0
At the start of the year everyone had Ellenbrook pegged to be right up the top of the ladder after successive years with the double chance. But whatever the reason the teams around them improving or Ellenbrook dropping away they have struggled a bit this year. they are staying competitive in the majority of their games especially up at their home ground but are just being worn down by the teams around them the schedule helps them in this having only 3 away games left for the season. Their reserves have managed to win all their games (some by the skin of their teeth) and are sitting two games clear on top, Ballajura and Kenwick will need to be good to catch them but I’m sure neither side will shy away from the challenge.

East Fremantle 1-7
Reserves 7th 3-5
Everyone who has played this side have said they are unlucky not to have won more games and I agree though the stories of infighting during games are always troubling. They just need to stick to their game plans and get tighter as a group and they will come out of this season stronger as a losing season tends to weed out the players who aren’t interested in a struggle letting the team grow. Their reserves are another time in the group and with their percentage doing them no favours they will need to win a few games and hope the others lose to get into those coveted finals spots

Manning 0-8
Reserves 9th 0-8
Manning are having a tough year but they have a great group of players who will no doubt work tirelessly to rebuild the club. I really hope they can do what Brentwood have done and totally turn their club around after successive down years.

good review clackson, just went through early ladder predictions and fair to say Ellenbrook have been the biggest surprise, most had them in the top 3. The biggest improvement was Dianella Morely who most had in the bottom three.

Second half of teh year will be a cracker, I recon east froe may suprise a few and ellenbrook will also get a couple wins against higher teams! from here on in, every game is so important to try secure a double chance, starting with dianella this week, in what appears to be storm like conditioms!