It doesn't seem to be an overly exciting round of football this week, with each of the top 5 playing a bottom 5 side. I would imagine the top 5 are pretty much set, and it is unlikely that any of them will switch places with each other. At the other end of the ladder it appears to Canning and Swan Valley will be duking it out to avoid the relegation zone. With only 1% separating them, it is most likely their final ladder positions will be determined in Round 17 when they play each other. So on to this weeks games.
Canning vale vs Gosnells
It has been a somewhat mediocre year from the cougars, particularly after finishing up semi-finalists last year. After periodically flirting with the relegation zone, they appear to have removed themselves from that situation and are 2 games out of the 5. All is not lost however, win 2 of their last 3 and with their superior percentage they could slide in to 5th. This will be difficult however with their last 3 being against Gosnells, Bassendean & Nollamara, which is a must win if they want to push the roos out of their spot. The Hawks on the other hand appear to be cemented to top spot and will go into the finals raging favourites. I'm sure they will keep on rolling and do the cougars by 10 goals here.
Nollamara vs High Wycombe
It appears the roos are starting to pick up a bit of momentum heading into the finals. Perhaps this is due to them starting to get a similar group of players each week now, or maybe the inclusion of the former Palmer United Party candidate for Durack is helping to keep their heads in the game. The doggies showed a little bit of resilience last week not getting absolutely pummelled by the cougars, but this probably had more to do with the cougars not kicking straight. A big win here will go a long way to the roos securing their spot in the finals race, and I am sure that will happen.
Lynwood vs Canning
The panthers seem to have bounced back from a bit of a mid-season slump, with the return of some of their key players probably assisting with this. After taking out Warnbro last week in a low scoring game, they should have secured themselves home field advantage come first week of finals. Ideally they would like to continue their winning form heading into finals, and with Canning being away from home, I would imagine the panthers should take the chocolates comfortably here.
Bassendean vs Ocean Ridge MOTR
This was really the only choice for MOTR this week due to the lack of seemingly close games. By losing last week Ocean Ridge have almost removed themselves from the finals race, being 2 games out of the 5 with only 3 games left. This side seems to have lacked any real x-factor all year, which I'm sure they may look at recruiting through the offseason. Perhaps they rely too heavily on the old fella in the middle that I'm sure had x-factor back in his day. Their opponents, Bassendean have been somewhat up and down this year but appear to have picked up some momentum in the last couple of weeks. I'll back the black ducks here, but only just.
Swan Valley vs Warnbro
Warnbro appear to have had a bit of form slump in the last month, going down at home to both Lynwood and Nollamara. They have lost both times to Lynwood now, so I'm not sure how that will go for their confidence heading in to the first week of the finals. This game will surely be a formality for them to regain some confidence. Swan Valley apparently have been plagued with injuries this year, and I would imagine they will go down by around 10 goals here.
Good luck to all teams
