West Adelaide Vs Norwood

WOMEN 8:15 PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | PORT ADELAIDE
OFFICIALS: N Frost & M McLoughlin

West (8-9) v Norwood (15-2)

The Bearcats host the Flames on Saturday in what is a monumental week for the home side.

The Bearcats are just a game out the five. They held the current holders of fifth place Forestville to a stalemate this season, with each team winning at home by five points. The catch is they are 11.63 points behind the Eagles on percentage. Only an enormous win over the Flames, coupled with a humungous loss for Forestville against North, and trebled with a Woodville loss to Eastern, could get the Bearcats into the top five.

There is a chance the Bearcats could get lucky, as this is effectively a dead rubber match for the Flames. The Flames have the Minor Premiership wrapped up, and would probably prefer Forestville to be out as quickly as possible, considering their propensity to struggle against Carla Borrego.

The Flames comfortably beat the Bearcats last time, but that match meant so much more to them than this one will.

 

MEN 6:30 PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | PORT ADELAIDE
OFFICIALS: Weiland & N Ireland

West (11-6) v Norwood (13-4)

In the final round of the regular season, the Bearcats and Flames will meet, in a possible Qualifying Final preview.

The Flames can still finish first, but after last week’s unprecedented blowout loss to Woodville, they will need to win this game and rely on the Warriors losing to the Mavericks – a highly unlikely scenario given the Warriors won by 70 in their last meeting with the Mavericks.

The Bearcats have a more realistic shot of moving up in the standings, although their fate is out of their hands if Central Districts emerge victorious against South. The Bearcats must defeat the Flames, and have South do them a favour by beating the Lions.

The Flames beat the Bearcats by seven last time, although the Bearcats were without Blake Truslove, as well as Daniel Johnson – who recently signed a contract to play professionally in Europe. It will be interesting to see if the Flames can handle the Bearcats’ size advantage in the middle.

 

 

South Adelaide Vs Central Districts Lions

WOMEN 6:30PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | MARION
OFFICIALS: B Shepherd & A Gillings

South (12-5) v Centrals (0-17)

The Lions will have their final chance to avoid a winless season when they come up against a Panther side that is locked into fourth place.

The Panthers went down by 18 to North last week, meaning they have missed their opportunity to earn a valuable double chance.

The Lions lost by 49 to Sturt in Round 17.

The Panthers thrashed the Lions when they met in Round 9. They also met in the final game of 2013, but under far different circumstances. The Panthers won by three points to avoid the wooden spoon, at the Lions’ expense.

 

MEN 8:15PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | MARION
OFFICIALS: B Northcote & N Passey 

South (7-10) v Centrals (11-6)

The Panthers have the chance to play spoiler when they host the Lions in the Match of the Round.

The Lions sit on the same win-loss ratio as West at present. Because of their superior head-to-head record, a win over the Panthers will guarantee the Lions a double chance. A loss and the Lions will need Norwood to beat West to avoid a straight up Elimination Final with reigning premiers Forestville.

As a team, the Panthers are playing for pride. That said, Shane Boal and Bradley Reid have had outstanding seasons, and this is the last chance they will get to make a run at the top individual honours for this campaign, including the Woollacott Medal.

The Lions were so hot last time that the lights went out, but reversing a big loss is something the Panthers have achieved already, producing a 50 point turnaround against Forestville, and a 29 point swing against North Adelaide only last week.

 

Sturt Sabres Vs Southern Tigers

 

WOMEN 6:30PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | PASADENA
OFFICIALS: M Pepicelli & D Rault

Sturt (14-3) v Southern (3-14)

The Sabres can clinch a home final if they can defeat the Tigers at Pasadena.

The Sabres will definitely play the Rockets in the Qualifying Final, in a rematch of 2013. The Sabres could be forgiven for preferring an away game, as they were blown out by the Rockets in last year’s Preliminary Final and also in Round 3, whereas they have won their last two against the Rockets at Hillcrest.

The Tigers have lost seven in a row and have only won once on the road all season. A win would seal eighth place.

The Sabres had a big win over the Tigers the last time they met, but their greatest priority should be keeping everyone fit and healthy for the finals.

 

MEN 8:15PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | PASADENA

OFFICIALS: A Just & R Rochford

Sturt (8-9) v Southern (6-11)

The Sabres and Tigers will meet at Morphett Vale in what will be the final match of the season for both teams.

This fixture became a dead rubber after the Sabres fell 11 points short of Centrals last week. The match to rue for the Sabres was their Round 14 loss to Forestville, where they blew a sizeable fourth quarter lead and lost by a basket. Ultimately, the Sabres have won just five of 14 games since starting 3-0.

The Tigers have had their moments, also starting 3-0 and following up by breaking long losing streaks against Forestville and North. However, last week’s loss to West was their 11^th in 14 games, and they are now guaranteed of finishing eighth – a step back from last season’s playoff chase that resulted in a seventh placed rank.

The Sabres hold the bragging rights against the Tigers, having defeated them comfortably the last time they met.

 

Woodville Warriors Vs Eastern Mavericks

WOMEN 6:30PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | ST CLAIR
OFFICIALS: D Miller & J Brown

Woodville (8-9) v Eastern (3-14)

With their opponents’ finals chase now over, the Mavericks are playing the Warriors at the right time as they look to finish this season outside of the bottom two.

The Mavericks are tied with Southern at 3-14, but it is the Tigers with the tiebreaker. The Mavericks must defeat the Warriors and have Sturt defeat the yellow and black to finish in eighth position.

The Warriors are out of the playoff race after losing to Norwood last week. They still have the chance to shape the five, while a win would give them a .500 record to end the year.
When these teams met in Round 9, the Warriors emerged 10 point winners.

 

 

MEN 8:15PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | ST CLAIR
OFFICIALS: J Cresp & M Harris

Woodville (13-4) v Eastern (3-14)

The Warriors and Mavericks have plenty to play for when they face off at St Clair.

The Warriors jumped back to equal first for the first time since the end of Round 11, after shocking Norwood 94-61 last week. The 33 point win was a 47 point swing from their Round 8 outing, meaning the Warriors will finish top if they end Saturday night still on the same number of wins as the Flames. A win will get the job done for the Warriors, but a loss would give the Flames a chance if they can beat West.

At present, the Mavericks hold a share of ninth spot with North. A win would guarantee the Mavericks will avoid the wooden spoon for the first time since 2011, because of their 2-0 record against the Rockets this season. A loss would give the Rockets a chance of pipping them to ninth, but they would have to beat Forestville.

The Mavericks have an improbable task ahead of them this week, having lost 39-109 the last time they met the Warriors.

 

Forestville Eagles Vs North Adelaide Rockets

WOMEN 6:30PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | WAYVILLE
OFFICIALS: M Dyson & M Frost 

The Forestville Eagles are playing to confirm their finals berth when they face third ranked North Adelaide Rockets at Wayville this weekend.

The Eagles are currently in 5th spot a game clear of the Bearcats. If Forestville lose and the Bearcats win, it will come down to percentages and win loss records to decide the who plays another week. 

The Rockets on the other hand have nothing to change this week, they are locked in as number three and will play in the Qualification final next week.

The last time they met the Rockets beat the Eagles by 18 points but the Eagles have since had a significant lineup change and are in good form with good momentum. That being said the Rockets have played a consistent, quality, team based game all year so they should feel confident going in to this match.

 

MEN 8:15PM | SATURDAY 2 AUGUST | WAYVILLE
OFFICIALS: I Domeika & J Grigoul

Forestville (10-7) v North (3-14)

Having survived a scare prior to clinching their spot in the finals, the pressure is finally off the Eagles ahead of their home clash with the Rockets.

The Eagles will play either Centrals or West in the Elimination Final next week, both of whom they have beaten in the second half of the season. The Eagles have won six of seven and are in great form as they attempt to win a fourth successive premiership.

After going down by five points to South last week, the Rockets must win this game to avoid the wooden spoon. They have lost nine in a row. The Eagles’ win over the Rockets last time was the start of the Rockets’ current losing streak.

A win for the Eagles would give them a slim chance of earning a home final next week.