The Panthers have been a great side this season and sit tied for first spot in the win/loss column, but something looks a little off about them.
I’m not sure if it’s an internal issue, external issue or something completely unrelated to football, but it’s been a while since Carey Park put forth a four-quarter effort.
They had lapses in their game against the last-placed Bulldogs and at one point it looked like they might even get rolled.
Fortunately for them, they came through when it mattered.
But if the Panthers have lapses against sides like Eaton or Busselton, it won’t end so joyfully for them.
But if you’re going to have a slump, let it be now rather than in September, right?
In the words of Homer Simpson – “it’s like the measles, good to get it out of the way.”
Now I’m not one to believe in home field advantages very much – especially in the SWFL.
If driving down the road for 40 minutes affects your play, then you aren’t all that good, are you?
But nonetheless, Busselton has shown that they are extremely hard to beat at home.
The only game they’ve lost on home soil this year was a freak upset in extremely wet conditions to South Bunbury – a game in which the Magpies kicked inaccurately.
However, travelling does seem to be their downfall.
They’ve lost to Eaton and Carey Park when on the road but won against both of those sides at home.
You won’t find me tipping against Busselton when they play at Sir Stuart Bovell Park.
Up to now, Augusta-Margaret River’s season has been great.
One of the competition’s worst sides in 2014, the Hawks turned it around big time this season and look like playing finals.
But a heavy loss to Donnybrook would not have been the way the Hawks wanted to come out of the bye.
They’ve started the business end of the season on the wrong foot, and their game this week against Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault looms as a “must-win”.
Although they sit two games clear of Harvey, an unexpected loss to the Hawks will put an enormous amount of pressure on them.
Being three games outside of the top five, South Bunbury can still mathematically make finals.
But the key word is “mathematically”, and they probably won’t.
Still, their form has been impressive in recent games and some of the top sides should be worried about facing them.
They’ve already beaten the Boomers and they won’t see Carey Park again, but they have Busselton this week and Donnybrook in round 17.
These Tigers are capable of causing upsets against both of these teams and damaging their chances of a top-three finish and a qualifying final berth.
Look to South Bunbury if you’re searching for a side that could cause upsets.
A few weeks ago, a pair of my colleagues and I sat down to determine what would happen in the back half of the season.
In case you’ve forgotten or missed out on the predictions, I tipped Donnybrook to fall away and finish fourth (making them the worst of the best sides).
So now I’m wondering, is it too late to buy a ticket to the bandwagon?
Every time Donnybrook gives us a slight reason to doubt them, they come out and demolish a quality opponent.
With or without Jeff Smith, this team can challenge.
They have next-to-nothing in terms of finals experience, but I’m eager to see where this team can finish and how far they can go.
