Round 18 preview

Last weekend’s results saw another big reshuffle at the top of the Premier League ladder, as Dapto Dandaloo Fury took the upper hand in the battle with Bulli for title honours, and the race for the other play-off spots tightened up further, with five teams fighting for the remaining three slots.

With just four matches still to reschedule from the Round 16 Saturday wash-out, the stage is set for the last five rounds of the regular season.

Match of the round

Tarrawanna Blueys v Bulli FC @ Tarrawanna Oval on Saturday 1 August – kick-off 2.30pm

Both teams lost last weekend, giving their rivals the initiative in their respective battles for play-off positions and league title. A win for either side will keep them in the chase, but defeat again could end their hopes. A draw might not even be a good enough result for either side, so this one is set to be a humdinger of a match, with all to play for.

Until last Sunday’s shock defeat to South Coast United, the only team to beat Bulli in the League this season were today’s hosts. So there is a double reason for Bulli to be up for this game, as they seek to take revenge for the 2-3 defeat at Balls Paddock back in May.

With 50 goals to their name in 16 games and with a strike force led by the League’s top scorer, Ben McDonald, Bulli know they have the capacity to win this tie. And last time they slipped up with a draw against lowly Shell Cove, they bounced back the following week with an 8-0 thrashing of Cringila. So Tarrawanna need to be on their guard for this one.

Tarrawanna’s poor record against the top teams continued in the last Round, with their 1-4 defeat to ladder leaders Dapto Dandaloo. Top marksman Wandi Jajaw barely got a look in last week, so the Blueys will need him to be better serviced and at his sparkling best if they are to beat Bulli again.

Friday 31 July

Cringila Lions v Port Kembla @ Crehan Park – kick-off 8.00pm

Cringila Lions are a hard team to predict. They picked up a useful point in the reverse fixture away at Port Kembla in May and beat third place Wollongong United at Crehan Park last month. But they have also suffered some of this season’s most crushing defeats, losing home games to Albion Park 2-5, to Bulli 0-8 and most recently to Dapto Dandaloo 0-6.

Port Kembla haven’t scored more than two goals in a game since their 3-1 win over Shell Cove back in Round 2, so we’re unlikely to see a lot of goals in this fixture. But Port have everything to play for, sitting in sixth spot in the ladder, and a win in this Friday night fixture would see them leapfrog over Tarrawanna Blueys into fifth, adding to the pressure on the Blueys ahead of their Saturday kick-off against Bulli.

Port Kembla also need to improve their goal difference, which is currently 0, and the worst of all the teams in the chase for finals places. A draw would not be good enough for Port, especially with their catch-up game from Round 16 a tough one against ladder leaders Fury.

Saturday 1 August

Dapto Dandaloo Fury v Bellambi @ Dandaloo Sports Ground kick-off 2.30pm

When top plays bottom in a league like this, everyone knows where the three points are likely to go.

Last weekend’s comprehensive win at Tarrawanna showed how the Fury have settled back into a rhythm after two home defeats to Wollongong United and Albion Park a few weeks ago. With Robbie Shields running rings round most defences in this league, it’s going to be a tough afternoon for the Bellambi backs.

And the Fury may well be welcoming back some of the other key players that have been missing in recent weeks, adding to Bellambi’s headaches.

Bellambi might take heart from the way they limited the Fury to a 2-1 win earlier this season at Bellambi’s Elizabeth Park ground. And the Rosellas did manage a point at home to Port Kembla a few weeks ago.

But nobody expects anything but a home win here, which would keep the Fury on top of the ladder and leave Bellambi hoping the teams above them don’t get a result, or they will be losing touch at the bottom.

Wollongong United v Woonona @ Macedonia Park kick-off 2.30pm

Any doubts over Wollongong United’s place in the end-of-season finals were put to bed by the Lions’ double win over the last weekend, giving them six points and third spot in the ladder coming into this Round 18 match.

Scoring five goals and conceding none in those two ties against Shell Cove and Bellambi has also improved their goal difference, which may yet help should they slip up again in the final rounds of the regular season. With his two goals in two ties at the weekend, Moto Kinjo became the United top scorer this season with 5 to his name.

Woonona have certainly improved since a very shaky start to the season, but most people would expect a home win for United in this fixture, and if Bulli stumble again at Tarrawanna this weekend, the Lions may even have a pitch at second spot over the last weeks.

Woonona will be no push over, though. They earned a draw in the reverse fixture back in May and have started to knock in a few goals after starting the campaign this season with no goals in their first four matches. In fact, Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Wollongong Olympic was the first match in which Woonona had failed to score since the end of May.

Wollongong Olympic v Albion Park White Eagles @ PCYC – kick-off 2.30pm

After taking four points out of six in the two ties against Woonona last weekend, Olympic are right back in the hunt for play off positions. They’ll need to get something out of this weekend’s match, though, to keep in touch with fifth spot.