Even with these sides earning the right to a second chance next week, there is plenty on the line in this match.
The loser will be playing in a do-or-die match next week with the pressure of going out in straight sets upon them.
The winner will face the almighty South Bunbury next week, which may not seem like such a great prize, but another second chance will be available.
Focusing in on this game though, it’s hard to find two teams that match up closer than these two.
Last week showed exactly that.
In poor conditions Eaton ran away with a 15 point win, but if the Bulldogs could have converted just a few extra opportunities from their many missed, it would have gone down to the wire.
Nonetheless, bad kicking is bad football.
The weather doesn’t seem to be shaping as any sort of a factor in this match.
Both sides would like a dry day to be able to utilise their tall forwards and midfield skills, but both play strong brands of football in the wet.
The obvious key matchups are being anticipated in this game, including Bunbury’s Marc Re going up against Eaton’s Will Barnes and Eaton’s Jake Ferrier being taken by Bunbury’s Codey Hay.
But after watching last week’s clash I’m especially interested in seeing where Bunbury’s Jordan Adamson-Holmes heads to coming out of the pre-game huddle.
Last week Adamson-Holmes spent the majority of the game in defence and held the fort extremely well.
He made sure Eaton didn’t find a free man going forward and spoiled well in the contests.
The inclusion of Aidan Parker for Bunbury could free up Adamson-Holmes to move around the ground a bit more, but if it isn’t broke then why fix it?
Adamson-Holmes did a damn fine job in the backline last week and he could find himself there again.
For Eaton, I’m interested to see if they make any changes to the structure at all.
Their game plan was solid last week and they stretched the Bunbury midfield at every transition run.
Whenever the Boomers had the ball in hand, they were dangerous.
If Jye Cormack and Josh Bowe can repeat their performances from round 18 and damage the Bunbury midfield, Eaton is every chance.
But the inclusion of Aidan Parker for the Bulldogs is a massive one so I’m staying with Bunbury here.
Prediction: Bunbury by 6 points.
The Panthers didn’t field their strongest side last week and went down to Busselton by seven points away from home.
Have the Panthers tampered with winning form and given Busselton too much confidence? We’ll know the answer to that this Sunday.
My guess is no, they have not.
Coach John Baggetta will have a plan this week and the Panthers will stick to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.
Busselton’s run and handball game has gifted them a winning record in past seasons and it has proven results.
With a potent midfield that moves in numbers Busselton is a chance in almost any game they head into.
Dan McGinlay is the main orchestrator for the midfield and is supported by Jordan Eastwell and Damien Lee.
Kyle Hamms is also a vital instrument coming out of defence.
These Magpies will have to be at their best to stem the constant flow of inside 50s that come from Carey Park’s running brigade.
Viv Blurton, Reese Richardson and David Roche have all been in good form and Brayden Lawler has had a stunning season and had to be in the running for the Hayward medal.
Up forward Carey Park looks to have everything they need to overcome the Busselton backline.
Busselton has struggled to stop teams from scoring all season and having to defend against Matt Martin, Aaron Hill and Jordan Aitken could get ugly if their midfield doesn’t get back enough.
The matchup I’m looking forward to most in this game is between the two tallest men on the ground.
Carey Park’s Michael Robinson and Busselton’s Brent Hall will do battle in the ruck and it could go either way.
Hall has the physical body to outmuscle his opponent at contests, but Robinson is surprisingly agile around the ground and Hall will need to cover him.
This game, like the qualifying final, could go either way.
But given Carey Park’s talent around the ground I’m going to stick with the Panthers.
Prediction: Carey Park by 15 points.
