The Panthers claimed a huge 100 point victory over Harvey on Saturday night and there’s no denying that it came from their midfield.
Carey Park has always had a top class midfield but it seems to have stepped it up a notch over the past seven weeks.
Brayden Lawler, Viv Blurton and David Roche form a lightning-quick running brigade with skills to match while Reese Richardson adds a touch of class to elevate them to being one of the best midfields in the league.
If there is one weak spot amongst this midfield it is their accuracy in front of goal; luckily they have Matt Martin, Aaron Hill and Michael McGarry in the forward line to worry about kicking majors.
The Magpies haven’t beaten a side placed in the top five all season with their only win against a current top five opponent coming against Carey Park who was then placed at sixth.
This stat speaks volumes of Busselton’s season and tells us the Magpies may get found out this week against an in-form and fourth placed Carey Park side.
It also tells us the Magpies have a slim chance of surviving their first final, which will also be against Carey Park.
The midfield carries this team, but Busselton has little depth and could get exposed very soon.
HBL may not have made finals, but a win in their clash with Donnybrook next week will make this season an easier one to swallow.
The Lions were not touted to finish much higher than ninth or eighth place and it seems they will finish seventh.
I may have got the tip right when I selected South Bunbury to beat HBL on Saturday night, but my margin of 80 points was way off.
The Lions will be excited they pushed South Bunbury and will go into this week’s clash against the Dons full of confidence.
After some inconsistent weeks it seems Bunbury is back up and rolling with strong performances in their past fortnight.
A 35 point win over sixth place may not seem like an astounding feat, but travelling to Collie and claiming a five goal plus win is always impressive.
Of course the real test comes this weekend when the Bulldogs go up against Eaton.
The game will give a huge insight as to where the teams are at heading into the finals, but for now, the Doggies seem to be in a strong spot.
Much like the Bunbury Bulldogs, it’s hard to tell just where Eaton stands among other top five sides heading into the finals.
After pushing South Bunbury to an uncomfortable position and then demolishing Donnybrook, Eaton looks to be finding momentum before the finals along with Bunbury.
Now the question to ask is which team will take a backwards step this week?
With Bunbury and Eaton set to play each other in the first week of finals as well as round 18, the stage is set for either to make a statement.
I’m predicting the winner of the round 18 clash to go on and win the qualifying final the following week.