By James Woite

 

Eastern (2-2) v Forestville (1-3)

The Eastern Mavericks and Forestville Eagles will be keen to bounce back from disappointing defeats in Round 4 when they go head-to-head in the hills.

A 71-86 loss to the Southern Tigers caused the Mavericks to slip to 2-2. Demetria Frank scored 17 points and Emma Hooley had 16.

19 points from Samantha Defrancesco was not enough to get the Eagles home against Sturt, with their 79-93 loss worsening their record to 1-3.

The Eagles outscored the Mavericks by 37 points over their two matches last season, but each side’s 2015 season has been shaping up differently to their 2014 one. As the higher ranked team after four matches, the Mavericks deserve favouritism.

 

Sturt (4-0) v Norwood (5-0)

In the Match of the Round, the Norwood Flames will be seeking revenge for their loss to the Sturt Sabres in the 2014 Second Semi Final.

The Flames, without star Player-Coach Jessica Foley, went down to the Sabres by two points, missing out on the chance to go straight through to the Grand Final. The Sabres also beat the Flames at Mars in Round 10 last season, ending the Flames’ 31 game winning streak. The Flames beat the Sabres at Pasadena nine rounds prior.

2015 has gone perfectly for both teams, with the Sabres sitting 4-0 and the Flames 5-0. The Sabres got 27 points from Hannah Richards and a further 21 from Amy Shaw as they defeated the Eagles by 14 last week.

The Flames came away 96-67 victors against South Adelaide last round. Foley scored 22, while Rebecca Duke added 15.

The Flames have generally been winning by bigger margins, but the Sabres’ ability to grind out a win could be crucial, should these teams be merged in a neck-and-neck battle once more.

 

West (1-4) v North (5-0)

The West Adelaide Bearcats will be trying to break a three game losing streak when they face off against the unbeaten North Adelaide Rockets.

The Bearcats suffered a humiliating 31 point loss to Woodville last week, with Sky Langenbrinck’s 19 points not enough to keep the game close.

The Rockets jumped out to a 31-11 quarter-time lead in their Round 4 clash at Centrals, before emptying the bench in an 81-55 win. Jessica Cook made the most of her extended minutes, top-scoring with 20 points.

The Rockets beat Woodville 71-37 earlier this season, so it would take a dramatic, dynamic change in fortunes for the Bearcats to come away from this one victorious.

 

South (0-5) v Centrals (0-3)

There will only be one winless team left in the Premier League, following the clash between the South Adelaide Panthers and Central District Lions.

The Panthers have lost five times this season, including a second defeat to Norwood last week. The 29 point loss came in spite of a combined 57 points from Ieva Nagy, Madeline Cunningham and Mollie McKendrick.

The Lions’ 26 point setback at home to North was the closest the Starplex side has come to a win in three attempts. Star recruits Amy Lewis and Rosalie Cutri had 14 and 11 points respectively.

The Panthers thrashed the Lions twice last season, but the personnel for both sides is much different now.

 

Southern (2-2) v Woodville (2-2)

The winner of the Southern Tigers-Woodville Warriors clash will have achieved back-to-back victories for the first time this season, and will go back above .500 for the first time since the end of opening night.

Both sides’ form guide is WLLW. The Tigers defeated the Mavericks by 15 points last week. Former Forestville star Jess Fergus made her debut in the yellow and black with 18 points, while Kelsie Rutland and Lauren Fisher each scored 16.

The Warriors were far too strong for West in their previous match, winning 89-58. Katherine Perkas scored 23 points, while Ashleigh White and Callan Taylor combined for a further 31 points.

The Warriors got the better of the Tigers on both occasions last season, but this Tiger team is proving tougher than the one of the past couple of seasons.