NEAFL Round 10 Preview
By Matt Rossleigh
UWS GIANTS vs Gold Coast Suns – Blacktown International Sports Park 10.00am Saturday 25 May
The GIANTS are back at Blacktown again following last week’s 88-point loss to Brisbane Lions at the venue. Despite the heavy loss there were some positives for the GIANTS who were able to match it with the Lions in the opening quarter before a seven goal blitz from Brisbane in the second. Both clubs kicked three goals each in the third quarter before the Lions ran away with the match in the final quarter. The GIANTS will play AFL opposition again, with Gold Coast heading south looking to improve on their current position of 6th in the Northern Conference. Last weekend Gold Coast had a 79-point win over Morningside, with Timmy Summer kicking five goals which was his best return from his three games so far this season. While it was a heavy defeat for the GIANTS last weekend against last year’s NEAFL Premiers Brisbane, the club in the previous week were competitive against the Sydney Swans so anything is possible against the Suns.
Belconnen vs Broadbeach – Kippax Oval 11.45am Saturday 25 May
Belconnen has moved up to 2nd in the Eastern Conference after last weekend’s 53-point win against Hills Eagles. The club now sits on five wins and two losses from the opening seven matches and face a Broadbeach team which is coming off a 27-point loss to NT Thunder last weekend. With just two wins so far for the Northern Conference club, the Magpies can keep the pressure on the first placed Swans with another victory. In the win over Hills Eagles last weekend Christopher York kicked eight goals for Belconnen, which was 19th goal in the last month.
Ainslie vs Sydney Swans – Ainslie Football Park 2.00pm Saturday 25 May
The Swans consolidated their position on top of the Eastern Conference last week with a big win over Queanbeyan in the top of the table clash at the SCG. Jesse White kicked 10 goals as the Swans reserves ran away with a 113-point victory on Saturday afternoon. It was the first time the two club’s met since last season’s Eastern Conference Grand Final and the Swans looked impressive in front of goal despite the absence of Walsh, Morton, Everitt and Membrey who are the club’s four leading goalkickers. Ainslie come into the match on the back of a disappointing loss to Sydney University last week, but with results elsewhere going the club’s way they still sit in 4th position on the ladder. It was Ainslie’s first loss in a month, and if the club is to get back to winning ways they’ll be relying on Josh Bennett who has already kicked 36 goals this season.
Tuggeranong vs Hills Eagles – Greenway Oval 2.00pm Saturday 25 May
The two bottom clubs meet on Saturday afternoon with the loser to sit alone at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Tuggeranong is averaging less than 60 points per match this season which will need to be improved if they are any chance to add to their tally of two wins so far this season. Hills Eagles is without a win since the end of April when they defeated Sydney University, which has seen the club slide down the ladder. The Eagles will be looking to Jamie Vlatko for inspiration again, who bagged another four goals on the weekend to add to his tally of 26 so far this season.
Eastlake vs Sydney University – Star Track Oval 2.00pm Saturday 25 May
Fresh from last week’s bye, Eastlake take on a Sydney University side on a high after two straight victories which has seen the club rocket from last place up to 7th in a fortnight. A win for Sydney Uni would see their rapid rise continue as they would leapfrog Eastlake on the table into 6th and possibly even 5th depending on the result in the UWS GIANTS and Gold Coast Suns match. Thomas Elkington has been the star for Sydney Uni in the past two weeks, kicking 10 goals altogether which includes a six goal haul bagged against Ainslie last weekend. Eastlake is yet to record back to back victories this season and will be looking to achieve that for the first time following their 25-point victory over Hills Eagles in their last match.
