AFTER Busselton and Bunbury suffered shock losses and Collie drew Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault, a number of teams will be looking to bounce back in round 13 of the South West Football League season.
Collie could become the next victim of the massacre South Bunbury is performing on opposing teams when the two clash this Saturday.
With all due respect to the Collie Eagles, a side that is vying for a top five finish, South Bunbury looks to be on a rampage that isn’t slowing down.
Last time the two sides met was in round four and ended with South Bunbury claiming an 86 point win over an undermanned Eagles outfit.
This time the Eagles will have a better side on the field, but so will South Bunbury.
The inclusion of Adam Hunter has been a master stroke from South Bunbury as the versatile former AFL player wreaks havoc for the opposition no matter what position he plays.
Leigh Kohlmann’s forward presence has also boosted South Bunbury’s ranks, taking a large amount of attention away from goal kicker Brynn Francis.
That being said, Collie does have one of the best backlines in the competition.
Star talent isn’t necessarily something you will find in Collie’s back six, but discipline and good structure is aplenty.
That adds a bit of interest to the matchup, but with the forward 50 entries from South Bunbury’s midfielders coming in so precise, it will be hard to stop the Tigers from bagging another large win.
Prediction: South Bunbury by 69 points.
Busselton will be out to regain their authority as a top four side against Donnybrook this Saturday.
Both sides put forth horrible displays of football last weekend and both suffered huge losses.
It’s hard to pick which loss is more embarrassing; Donnybrook went down to who was then placed ninth on the ladder, but Busselton could only manage a single goal against a side that was only one ladder position above them.
However no doubt remains (in my mind at least) that Busselton will win this game.
The inclusion of Daniel McGinlay, who missed last week’s clash with South Bunbury due to travelling to South Australia with the WA Country side, will be an extremely welcome one.
Not only does he provide a skilful and physical midfield presence, McGinlay’s leadership is something Busselton can’t go without.
Both of these sides have talent in the midfield.
McGinlay, Damien Lee and Jordan Eastwell are always vital players for the Magpies, while Simon Parry, Curtis Guglielmana and Jason Brennan play similar roles for the Dons.
But if it comes down to influential players at the front and back ends of the ground, then Busselton should be able to come away with a win here.
Prediction: Busselton by 44 points.
Augusta-Margaret River will be searching for their second win of the season this Saturday when they take on Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault at Brunswick Oval.
The Hawks played some strong footy against Eaton last weekend going down by 38 points in the end.
Although they might not be bagging an abundance of wins, the Hawks have certainly shown improvement by lowering their losing margins.
HBL’s improvement was also on display last week when they pulled off the second tie game of the season against the sixth placed Collie Eagles.
Given the improvement of each side, this game poses to be a close affair with both squads desperate for a win.
It’s also hard to separate the talent of each side, with HBL earning the upper hand ever so slightly.
So to tip this match I’m going to take into account a factor I usually dispel immediately; travel.
When two sides both sitting at the bottom end of the ladder clash, home field advantage does play some form of a part.
It’s also true that HBL has the better set of younger players in Travis Obal, Zachariah Piper, Ty Armitage and much more.
These young followers should be able to bag a win for their club and given that the Harvey Bulls lose to Bunbury this week, move up a spot on the ladder.
Prediction: Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault by 19 points.
Carey Park will be out for its second upset in as many weeks when it takes on the Eaton Boomers at Glen Huon Reserve on Sunday.
The Panthers picked up a terrific win last week when they ended Bunbury’s unbeaten run and they will need to duplicate that performance this week if they are to overcome Eaton.
The Boomers seem to be slipping just a fraction, their wins aren’t as dominant as they once were and teams are heading into a clash against Eaton with a little more confidence.
Yet Eaton remains a premier team of the competition with a star studded line-up in all areas, one they will need to call on this week to beat an extremely confident Carey Park outfit.
Past experiences tell us Carey Park performs much more admirably against the Bulldogs than they do the Boomers.
When the two sides last met in round four Eaton came away with a 62 point win, while their two meetings last season ended in 64 and 79 point wins for the Boomers.
This adds up to a 68.33 winning margin for Eaton in the past three matches.
Nonetheless both sides go into this game with a clean slate.
The job for the Carey Park midfield will be to keep pace with the Eaton runners when the Boomers go forward.
Attacking and entering their own forward 50m arch is a breeze for the skilled Panthers, but gut running and defending is a quality some of the Carey Park followers will need to pick up if they are to win this game.
Overcoming the talent of players like Eaton’s Chris Atthowe, Blake Piggot, Gino Catalano, Josh Bowe, Bill Barnes and many more is always a task.
It’s not short of possible for Carey Park to gain another upset, but I’ll stay with the Boomers in this one.
Prediction: Eaton Boomers by 17 points.
Bunbury will look to get back on the winner’s list against the Bulls this weekend.
The Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season last week against Carey Park and you can guarantee they won’t be happy about it.
The Bulls on the other hand could still be trying to shake the hangover they would have collected on Monday morning after beating Donnybrook by 86 points.
The Bulls showed strong team orientated football in the win with a good spread of goal kickers and a large amount of players having an influence.
Harvey will want to take this win and use it as a step in the right direction, and one way to show they have done that will be to challenge the Bulldogs this week.
No one is expecting a miracle here; the Bulldogs should be able to win this game.
Harvey’s job is to simply make it as uncomfortable for the Bulldogs as they possibly can.
No doubt the Bulls will go into the game with the mentality of bagging a win, but a lot can be said for the Bulls if the margin stays below five goals.
Bunbury regains the competitions leading goal kicker in Marc Re this week, while Aidan Parker is still in terrific form.
Brett Lofthouse is bound to get the job on Re, making for an interesting dual in the Bunbury forward line.
The midfield battle will also be an intriguing one.
Harvey’s followers line-up resembles the weather in Melbourne; it changes frequently, but when it’s at its best it makes for a beautiful sight.
If the Bulls can put a strong midfield out and send the ball forward often enough, they should be able to bring the margin down considerably.
Prediction: Bunbury by 36 points.