XBlades AFL sydney Round 2 Preview

Article by Michael Shillito

 

We’ve got another big weekend of footy action this weekend. Four Premier Division matches on Saturday afternoon will give us some more insight into where this season is going.

 

After an opening round bye, Pennant Hills enter the competition this week; with a clash against East Coast Eagles at Mike Kenny Oval.

The Demons are always in the thick of the action at the business end of the season, and this year should be no exception. Chris Yard is again at the helm, and it’s a settled lineup at the Demons. And taking on the Eagles is a challenge the Demons will relish; and they only need to look back to the 2015 Grand Final for inspiration.

But the Eagles will be difficult opponents. Their unfurling of the premiership flag went sour when they were stunned by UNSW-ES last week; and they’ve got some work to do to bounce back this week. But the Eagles certainly have the firepower to pull off the result. There were Eagles who were well short of their best last week, but they’ll be better for the run.

This is a game that promises plenty. The Demons will be keen to get their season off to a strong start, and the home surroundings at Mike Kenny Oval will suit them. But the Eagles would be desperate to not be winless after two rounds. Expect a high-stakes clash in this one.

 

UNSW-ES host Manly at Henson Park on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs pulled off a shock result that will have the pundits re-assessing their predictions for the season after they got the early jump on the Eagles and then showed plenty of character to hold their highly-fancied opponents out in the final stages of the match. Former Richmond player Marc Dragicevic looks to have settled in well in Bulldogs colours, and he’ll be playing a leadership and mentoring role to some of the young talent in the red, white and blue.

Manly suffered a loss in the opening round at Weldon. They were leading at half time against UTS, but were unable to maintain that form as the Bats pulled away after the long break. The Wolves were short of full strength, but will be pleased at some of the younger players putting their hand up to take on a bigger workload; and they’ll be looking for more of that as the season progresses.

The Bulldogs will be on a high after last week. But one of the big tests is how a team can back up after such a strong performance. The ability is there, as last week’s result showed; and we’ll be watching with interest to see whether they can apply that consistently.

 

North Shore have their first home game at Mortgage Choice Oval this week as they host Sydney Uni. The Bombers got off to a flying start against St George last week but just couldn’t last the distance as the Dragons finished full of running. But they’ll be encouraged by the performance of some of their new recruits, who stood up magnificently. Erol Sertbas was best on ground last week, and will be keen to maintain that form against his old club this time.

A strong Sydney Uni side had to work hard to get over Wests at Picken Oval last week, and it wasn’t until late in the third quarter and the last term that they got on top. The quality of the Students side varies strongly from week to week; but there’s a good chance they’ll have a group of players with NEAFL experience again this week.

The Students beat North Shore when they played at Mortgage Choice Oval last year, and they’ll fancy their chances of doing it again. But the Bombers are ready for this challenge. They went down in a very high-standard game last weekend; and they won’t want to be winless going into Easter.

 

Two teams with opening-round wins will be playing off at Trumper Park at UTS host St George. Both sides had to fight for their wins last week, with the Bats taking three quarters to shake off Manly while the Dragons trailed for most of the day against North Shore and only took the lead in the dying minutes.

Nick Ryan was a handy target for the Dragons last week, and his height and marking power will be a key asset again this week against the strong Bats bodies. Bryce Addison was another key contributor for the Dragons, and they’ll be looking for another strong match from him this time round.

The Bats found some great recruits last week, with Adam Tarrant, William Thompson and Simon Lewis making an instant impression in Sydney footy. They’ll be looking for another big performance from them this week to take advantage of their home ground.

The Dragons have generally had the edge over the Bats in recent seasons; but usually not by much, and there’s been a history of close contents between these clubs. And with a chance to strike a key blow against a potential finals rival, and to remain with a share of the ladder leadership; this game could again go down to the wire.

 

Wests, with the round 2 bye, are already on their Easter break. With Premier Division taking a week off next week, this is a key opportunity to strike an early blow and make an impression that will last at least a fortnight.

And with two weeks to get over it, there’ll be nothing left in the tank. We can expect some tough and exhausting footy this week. We’ll all be fascinated to see how it unfolds.