Well round 1 has been and gone. The 2 sides that were relegated from C2 suffered first up losses while the 2012 C4 grand finalists both notched up wins. Preseason has been forgotten and everybody is glad that the real stuff is back....
League
Carlisle 9.16 – 70 lost to Ballajura 12.15 – 87
Nollamara 12.12 – 84 defeated Armadale 10.7 – 67
Dianella 13.7 – 85 defeated Cockburn 9.13 – 67
Noranda 16.9 – 105 defeated East Fremantle 8.8 – 56
Belmont 6.11 – 47 lost to Ellenbrook 9.13 - 67
Reserves
Carlisle 9.6 – 60 defeated Ballajura 6.8 - 44
Nollamara 7.5 – 47 lost to Armadale 7.9 - 51
Dianella 7.4 - 40 lost to Cockburn 6.8 - 44
Noranda 10.6 - 66 defeated East Fremantle 8.4 - 52
Belmont 3.6 – 24 lost to Ellenbrook 18.14 - 122
Leaderboard:
5 – Brisco,
4 – Red, Camper, Billy, sbelly, L-A-G, piesman,
3 – Whitey, Darth, Bundy, blinder, helmet, camel, bender
2 – AWAY TEAMS, junior, packing, southside, hungry, Hird,
Cockburn (8th) v Belmont (9th) @ Anning Park
The 2 relegated sides started off with a loss and now face each other, the loser going to be facing a 0-2 start. Belmont was quick out of the blocks against the Eels slamming on the first 4 goals of the game. They couldn’t keep the tempo up and this could be their downfall this week. Cockburn battled hard against a rejuvenated Dianella with accuracy the big problem. They had 22 scoring shots to the Raiders 20 but still lost by 18. Expect a big week in front of the sticks to help them out.
Cockburn to win.
Armadale (7th) v Noranda (1st) @ Gwynne Park
Armadale lost to one of the promoted teams last week and gets the 2nd straight up. Gwynne Park should give them a good advantage and have them primed for a huge game. Noranda had the expected win against East Freo and will look to further their favorites’ tag with a strong performance this week. They should have enough run to combine with their abundance of talls to win by a large margin if it’s a decent day weather wise.
Noranda to win.
Ballajura (5th) v Dianella (3rd) @ Kingfisher Oval
Game of the round. With Ballajura and Carlisle keeping Dianella out of finals last year, this game marks the first chance for the Raiders to see where they are at this year. Already rumours are floating around on the grapevine about their $harp $hooter Full Forward, but limiting his supply from the midfield would be the priority for the Royals. Ballajura started the season off with a win against a team they knocked out of the finals last year, it doesn’t look like they have lost anything so I would think they’ll be aiming for top 4 again.
Ballajura to win
East Fremantle (10th) v Carlisle (6th) @ Winnacott Reserve
As expected East Freo went down to Noranda and Carlisle had a tight game against Ballajura. This week is the big test for Easts as they need to win to against some of last year’s finalists to show improvement. They play Winnacott well and will be confident that the new recruits will fire in their first home game. Carlisle were extremely inaccurate in front of goals kicking themselves out of the game with 9.16. Expect them to attack through the corridor this week in order to kick a winning score.
Carlisle to win.
Ellenbrook (2nd) v Nollamara (4th) @ Coolamon Oval
Nollamara may have lost the last game of 2012 but got promoted and started off 2013 with a good win. They’ve played and won at Coolamon as recently as 2011 so the oval won’t hold any fears for them. With plenty of pace, the runners will enjoy the wide open spaces Ellenbrook call home. The Eels started off slowly, allowing 4 goals to be scored before replying. If it happens this week there will be no chasing the Cougars down. This has the potential to be a very tight game.
Eels to win.