AFL Sydney Preview – Round 14
The Dragons will take on second-placed UNSW/ES Bulldogs at Kelso Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Dragons come into the clash with confidence after their 71-point win over Sydney Hills Eagles. The side started well with the match over by half-time. Stephen Wilsen impressed in his 150th senior match, along with Nick Ryan who kicked six goals.
The Bulldogs easily disposed of Illawarra at North Dalton Park with Leigh Lavery helping himself to eleven goals. They spread better than any side in the competition and utilise the raking left-foots of Max Collett and Dane Rampe to best effect.
The other matches see sides in the top five pitted against the bottom five of the competition.
At Bruce Purser Reserve, the Sydney Hills Eagles will look to improve on their 131-point drubbing at the hands of Balmain Dockers in their rematch late Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles have lost six matches in a row and were blown away in the first half by the Dragons last weekend. Their second half was much-improved, with Matthew Scholz and James Gordon standouts for their side.
Balmain are currently fourth on the ladder, just ahead of the UTS Bats. They defeated a plucky Western Suburbs Magpies outfit last Sunday.. Midfielders Matthew Round and Leigh Conway are growing in presence with every game.
North Shore Bombers are favoured to bounce back this Saturday against Sydney University, who come off the bye. Although they had their chances in the dying stages last week, the Bombers went down by a point against UTS. Sam Naismith played a strong role in the ruck and will again be pivotal this weekend.
The UTS Bats have a chance to continue their winning momentum at Waverley Oval against the Campbelltown Blues on Saturday. Ruckman, Luca Miceli has been a presence in the middle of the ground. Patrick Healey was also important in the win over North Shore with five goals. Campbelltown were outclassed last week by Pennant Hills despite the best efforts of Marcus Linsen and Bryce Joynson.
The final match of the weekend will be played on Sunday afternoon at Mike Kenny Oval between Pennant Hills Demons and Illawarra Lions. As mentioned, the Demons were ruthless with a four-quarter display of power football against the Blues in the previous round. Matthew Carey and Aaron Crisfield continued their consistent seasons in the big win. Illawarra were disappointing against the Bulldogs at home last week and will need to work harder if they are to avoid a similar result on the scoreboard.
