Lions, Suns head south for NEAFL
UWS GIANTS v GOLD COAST SUNS
9:30 am – Manuka Oval Saturday 12th May.
The first of two cross-conference clashes this week in the NEAFL pits the UWS GIANTS against the Gold Coast Suns.
The GIANTS, fresh off the bye have had an indifferent start to the season, but started to string some good form together – notching up some impressive victories over joint league leaders Queanbeyan and Hills Eagles before a loss to Eastlake.
Gold Coast sit inside the top five, but have struggled in recent weeks, falling to both Labrador and the NT Thunder.
The game looms as a promising match-up, with both teams fielding sides with a wealth of talent, with the Gold Coast boasting former Saint Andrew Mcqualter, former pie Josh Fraser and 17 year old prodigy Jaeger O’Meara who’s set to become AFL’s next superstar.
The GIANTS have plenty of star power too with Dom Tyson and Will Hoskin-Elliot, both of whom have impressed at AFL level.
The match will come down to a fight through the middle and Gold Coast just look to have too much mature aged talent running around , but Danny Stanley and Hayden Jolly and should be able to outmuscle their younger counterparts.
BRISBANE LIONS v SYDNEY SWANS
1:30pm – Yeronga, Saturday 12th May.
The second cross-conference match also sees two AFL-affiliated clubs do battle, with the top of the table Brisbane Lions facing the in-form Sydney Swans reserves in what promises to be an enthralling contest.
The Lions have been dominating the Northern Conference, with AFL listed players Bryce Retzlaff, Amon Buchanan and Cheynee Stiller leading the charge.
For the Swans Mike Pyke has been fantastic in the ruck and up forward, Tony Armstrong has provided some great run and carry down back and ex-Richmond forward Mitch Morton has hit the scoreboard – nailing an extraordinary 10 goals last week. All three will be close to a senior call up if their form continues.
Over the course of the year the Lions have been pushed by sides who are capable of kicking big scores; and that’s certainly what the Swans can do with Trent Dennis-Lane, Tommy Walsh and Morton all capable of kicking bags of goals.
Where the Swans can be exploited is in their backline, with coach Jared Crouch prepared to throw men around in the name of development. Tommy Walsh has found himself down back at times, as has Mitch Morton, both of whom would not have played down back at their former clubs.
The game comes down to efficiently around the ground and in front of goal and coming off the back of a massive 200+ point victory it’s hard to tip against the Swans.
QUEANBEYAN v HILLS EAGLES
11:45am – Dairy Farmers, Sunday 13th May.
Queanbeyan and Sydney Hills sit atop the Eastern Conference ladder, both surprising many pundits who did not expect either side to have started the season so well.
The Tigers have been the standouts thus far, dropping only one game in 2012, and have to be considered the premiership favourites at this early stage. Their halfback line is the best in the competition, and their forward combination of James Kavanagh and Ben Klemke has been wonderful.
The Hills Eagles have impressed with their slick ball movement and teamwork. Ross Tungatalum and Brad Ure have been the architects out of the middle of the ground, offering precise foot-skills and the ability to get forward and kick goals.
The game will be won and lost in front of goal, with Queanbeyan’s scoreboard dominance a feature of their season so far, failing to score 20 goals only twice this season. The Hills Eagles on the other hand have only gone past the 20 goal mark once this season. Suffice to say the Hills Eagles cannot afford for this one to become a shoot out.
Both teams have been magnificent this year, but expect the Tigers to take the points in this one. Their scoreboard power should be too much in the end.
SYDNEY UNI v AINSLIE
12:00pm – No 1 Oval, Sunday 13th May.
Sunday’s match between Ainslie and Sydney University gives both teams an opportunity to jump back into finals contention after a week both teams would like to forget.
The Tri-colours gave up an early lead against Eastlake to lose by 44 points, while the Students were delivered a footballing lesson at the hands of the Sydney Swans at home.
Ainslie will be hoping they can get a greater spread of goal kickers after only four individual players made an impact. Too much was left to small forward Nick Paine who kicked five goals. Ken McGregor who missed last week will go a long way to alleviating that, but the Tri-colours need to find another avenue to goal to start posting big scores.
The Students on the other hand have been competitive in matches for long stretches without coming away with the result. They have an absolute gun in the form of Peter Dugmore up forward who just continues to kick goals, and he’s helped out by the more than handy Adam Campbell who provides a contest up forward.
The battle of the midfields will be the most intriguing with Ainslie’s Marcus Crook and Ian Lawless coming up against Aron Everett and Clint Wells. As good as the Students have battled throughout the year the edge here has to go to the Tri-colours.
EASTLAKE v BELCONNEN
2:00pm – Manuka, Sunday 13th May.
The last game of the weekend sees the equal first Eastlake facing the seventh placed Belconnen, in what will be a much more even contest than the ladder positions reflect.
The Demons have sprung to life after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Queanbeyan and Mt.Gravatt; taking down the white hot UWS GIANTS at Manuka and easily accounting for reigning premiers Ainslie over the weekend.
Conversely, the Magpies would consider themselves unlucky not to be higher on the ladder after a draw and two losses by less than five points.
Belconnen have had a tough time, with Captain John Love missing for the past month, and Simon Curtis and Matthew Lokan both serving a one week suspension. Curtis and Lokan will both line up on the weekend, with Curtis playing in his 100th club game, so the Magpies will be hoping they can get over the line for him.
Eastlake on the other hand have had great output from their superstar Aaron Bruce, but have shown over the course of the season that they are not reliant on the gun forward, with fellow forward Hayden Armstrong offering a different avenue to goal. With 32 goals between the twin-towers, the Magpies know who they have to stop to get the points in this one.
Unfortunately for Belconnen the goal scoring strength of Eastlake should prove too much in the end, with the Demons out to consolidate top spot on the ladder.
