Round 18 Preview – The Finals countdown
Article by Michael Shillito.
It is the last round of the home and away season. For four teams, it will be their last game of 2017. For four others, it will be their last chance to fine-tune their finals preparation.
Manly-Warringah Wolves vs. Western Suburbs Magpies
Two teams that will be keen to finish their season on a positive note, face off at Weldon Oval when Manly play host to Western Suburbs on Saturday afternoon.
Manly have won four games this season and will miss the finals for just the second time since their promotion to the Premier Division. Last week against UTS, they came back strongly from a huge deficit at three quarter time, but in the end, they were too far behind to catch up. The Wolves did, however, unearth another star of the future, with this week’s Rising Star nominee, Mitch Rogers putting in a strong performance. Tyrone Armitage is always dangerous and will be one to watch in his last hit-out for the season.
Wests have only had three wins this season, one of them being their last game against Manly. The Magpies were never in the hunt against North Shore last week, but they have shown considerable improvement this season compared to last. Brenton Mumme leads the way well, while the Magpies have seen the likes of Callum McEvoy-Gray step up well this year.
Neither team will be playing finals this year, but for the players on both teams, it is one last chance to fly the flag for their club. To finish the season on a high would build some confidence that can be taken to next year’s pre-season. For extra motivation, the loser of this game gets the unwanted wooden spoon, so both sides will be keen to avoid that.
Pennant Hills Demons vs. UTS Bats
Pennant Hills and UTS will face off in a Saturday twilight game at Mike Kenny Oval this weekend. Only four points separate the two sides on the ladder, but the percentage gap is too big for the Bats to be a finals chance.
The Demons wrapped up their finals berth last week, but not in the way they wanted. They are a game ahead of East Coast and UTS, but hold a massive percentage advantage too big to run down.
Last week’s game against Sydney University, however, had to be cut short when key forward Theo Moraitis went down with a horrific leg injury. In Moraitis’ absence this week, and through the finals, the Demons will be looking to the likes of Nick Hey and Matthew Preen to step up and kick a winning score.
UTS go into this game on the back of a three-game winning streak after they held out Manly to take a 14-point win at Weldon Oval last outing.
The likes of Scott Jansen and Edward Thwaites have hit some good form in the closing weeks of the season. The Bats have a good record against the Demons in recent seasons and with some good momentum behind them, a win here would see them finish the season with a four-game winning run.
Sadly for the Bats, they have left their run too late. The Bats could mathematically make the finals, but they would need to win by about 200 points and that is unlikely to happen.
Pennant Hills will be playing finals for the 14th season in a row. In this last hit-out before the finals, however, the Demons will be tested by a UTS side who have hit their best form at the end of the season.
East Coast Eagles vs. St. George Dragons
At Kanebridge Oval, East Coast will be taking on St George on Sunday afternoon. There will be no finals for the Eagles this year, while St George has some work to do to prepare for their upcoming sudden-death Elimination Final.
East Coast return to action for the final round after they had the bye last weekend. Their hopes of back-to-back premierships were dashed at their last start when they were well beaten by Manly. They have had individual players who have performed well this season, such as Bailey Stewart and Aaron Drinkwater.
However, for much of this season, their best plans have fallen short of the lofty standards they set themselves. This will be the first time their Premier Division team has missed the finals since the end of their NEAFL days.
St George will be playing finals this season, but fell behind North Shore and UNSW Eastern Suburbs in the race for the double-chance, and will face a sudden-death match up. The Dragons returned to the winners list last week with a hard-fought win over UNSW Eastern Suburbs.
Dylan Addison, after stints at Western Bulldogs and GWS GIANTS, has enjoyed being back at his original home at St George and will be one to keep a watch on this week. Also keep a look out for Baily McParland, who has had a break-out year to remember.
East Coast’s season comes to an end after this game, and they will not be defending their flag in this year’s finals series. They will want to rebound from a disappointing season with a positive finish, but the Dragons won’t want to drop this game as they look to build some momentum for the finals.
UNSW Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs vs. North Shore Bombers
Sunday afternoon at Henson Park will see UNSW Eastern Suburbs take on North Shore, in a game that will be a dress rehearsal for the Qualifying Final when the two teams face off again.
UNSW Eastern Suburbs had an impressive winning run earlier in the season, which saw them keeping pace with the ladder-leading Sydney University. The Bulldogs have gone off the boil in recent weeks, with three losses on the trot seeing them drop behind North Shore into third. They will not lose the double-chance, but they will want to regain their best form before the finals arrive.
Steven Pollock has been kicking plenty of goals, and the Bulldogs will need another bag from him this week. There is also an exciting crop of young talent coming through, with the run of Jake Bartholomaeus typifying the strong future that Bulldogs club looks set for.
North Shore go into this game with an impressive run of form behind them, picking up wins in their last six games. The Bombers dominated against Wests at Picken Oval last week to take a comfortable 74-point win.
Keep an eye on Kyle Devlin and Shaun Crane, two players who in their first season with the Bombers, have made key contributions as the season has gone on.
No matter what happens in this game, the two teams will play off in the Qualifying Final. It is certainly not a dead rubber, however, and they are playing for more than just the right to wear coloured shorts and use the home dressing room for the first final.
There is a key psychological edge. The Bombers will be wanting to keep their form going, while after three losses in a row, the Bulldogs will be desperate to turn their momentum around before the playoffs begin.
Bye – Sydney University
Sydney University has the bye this week. For the Students, it is a time of rest and recovery ahead of the finals. As minor premiers, they will also have next week off after playing less than a quarter of footy last weekend. Will they be refreshed or under-done when they get to the second Semi Final? Time will tell.
For North Shore, UNSW Eastern Suburbs, St George and Pennant Hills this week is about getting ready for the challenge of finals to come. For East Coast, UTS, Manly and Wests it is about ending the season on a high.
It all adds up to another exciting weekend of footy.
