The first round after the bye is always interesting. Traditionally a lot of clubs have a week off from training to refresh the player group. Unfortunately the players often refresh themselves a little too much! But that is amateur footy I guess.
Some very important games this week,particularly for the top four sides. Big wins against weaker sides don’t mean much when you are locked in a 6 team battle for top 3. Solid wins against the other sides in finals contention, go a long way in cementing a team’s confidence come finals time.
CBC 2nd (6 & 1) Vs Trinity Aquinas 1st (6 & 1)
Last week CBC beat NF by 24 points and TA’s beat NB by 67 points. CBC’s only loss this year is against Kelmscott and TA’s only loss is against Uni. CBC have definitely had the edge over TA’s in recent years, so if the TA’s boys can get up down at Morris Bussacott that will be a big psychological advantage, assuming the two sides meet deep into the finals. I expect it will be rough and tough as there has never been a lot of love between the two sides. It should be a ripper and go down to the wire.
TA’s by 5 points
North Beach 8th (2 & 5) Vs Wesley 5th (4 & 3)
Last week the young Beach side went to TA’s by 67 points in what I understand was a very enthusiastic performance, whilst Wesley flogged Kalamunda by 57 points. With a top three finish at stake the Wesley boys won’t drop this match.
Wesley by 6 goals
North Fremantle 7th (2 & 5) Vs West Coast Cowan 6th (4 & 3)
The Maggies had a real crack last week only going down by 24 points to the formidable CBC outfit. West Coast surrendered early and went down by 67 points against Uni. The magpies are certainly no easy beats and are obviously the best side in the bottom four and probably the only team that has a genuine chance of beating one of the top six teams. A loss in this match would be disastrous for the Coast and put a real dent in their finals aspirations. Another loss to North Freo will mean they stay in the relegation zone. It will be a lot closer than people think, but a return to form by Big Bennet, who has been well held in the last two weeks, should be enough to get the Coast over the line.
West Coast by 3 goals
Kalamunda 9th (0 & 7) Vs Mt Lawley 10th (0 & 7)
This is the first time to my knowledge that two A Grade sides are winless after 7 rounds! The recent form for both sides has been ordinary to say the least, with Kalamunda coming off a 10 goal loss to Wesley and Mt Lawley coming off a 7 goal loss to Kelmscott. For Mt Lawley a win is even more important because as their percentage is so weak, it effectively leaves them a game behind Kalamunda. I think Mt Lawley is showing signs of improvement and the boys may just notch the first win for the season under coach Garth Taylor.
Mt Lawley by 3 goals
University 4th (5 & 2) Vs Kelmscott 3rd (6 & 1)
Following their narrow loss to Wesley, Uni have beaten Mt Lawley (by 83 points) and West Coast by 67 points. Whilst Kelmscott have only dropped the one game this year they have not been tested like they will this week. Uni play hard running, high pressure football. If Kelmscott want to send a message to the competition this will be the game that will send it for mine. Ben Taylor has been dangerous every time he goes forward and will need to be watched as he has probably been the match winner in at least three of their games. This game is definetly the match of the round and whilst it will be close I expect the class of the Uni side to prevail.
University by 3 goals
