swannies
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Well, the bottom 5 have tightened up 
and I guess, the bottom of the top 4 is still open. I've checked through a few records and there haven't been too many more even years than this years competition, from what I can see. 3 games between 3rd and bottom place.
Thunder v Lions
The Thunder had their first win over the Lions earlier this year, so they are certainly on the improve. The Lions were good against Swans last week, but Swans were terrible, and the Lions need to keep winning to keep the pressure on the top 4 teams.
Peel have lost Faulks and Lycett, which could be a big loss, however, they retain their running players, which will be the key to beating Subi. Jones, Crichton, Jones, Thorntons, Brown, Eddy, Healey, Nye, Beswick, Eddy are all going to be important. P-S is an up and coming ruckman IMO, so will be good to see how he goes against Rix. Forward, where are the goals going to come from and who is going to stop Broady, they are the questions. Although Herring, Battye and Holmes are all capable of kicking goals, but it looks the weakness, to me.
The Lions don't have too many standout players, apart from Broady and Horsley, but they are a solid, workmanlike unit, much like the coach. Bristow did a lot of good work in close last week. A couple of youngsters had good matches, young Waters is one to keep an eye on, classy finisher and knows where the goals are. Randall was back to his best form last week, stopped a lot of sorties forward, Cockie will be a very welcome edition, was playing pretty good football early in the year. Anthony may be out, but he was OK last week, not outstanding, but by all reports he loves it down at Subi and you could see they were trying to get him into the game early last week.
I think Subi will prevail, in a pretty tight struggle.
Teams
Thunder
B M Battye J Flaherty D Mcfarlane
HB J Jones A Thornton M Green
C J Crichton R Nye B Thornton
HF R Healey B Holmes K Thornton
FF J Warren R Herring M Brown
F P Pohlenz-Saw R Beswick B Jones
Int. D Beswick, C Eddy, B Gillam, R Mason, A Payrits, B Triplett, B Wilson
In R Nye, D Beswick, C Eddy, A Payrits, B Wilson
Out P Faulks, S Lycett
Lions
B R Forrest C Wheeler K Bloxsidge
HB B Randall A Parker A Davey
C D Hughes C Phelan S Hildebrandt
HF P Hassett B Stevenson J Joyce
FF A Pickett B Broadhurst D Rumble
F M Rix J Bristow K Horsley
Int. R Blechynden, A Cockie, G Hampson, R Kerr, S Ward, R Waters, S Worthington
In B Stevenson, G Hampson, A Cockie, S Ward
Out J Anthony
Tigers v Royals
The Tigers are sitting in second spot, being a little up and down, whilst the Royals seem to be finishing the season pretty strongly. The Royals can keep their slim hopes of finishing in the top 4 alive if they win this one and the Tigers have a few outs???
Firstly, congrats to Crawford on 150 games.
The Tiges have Swift and Weedon out, but Weedon possibly coming back in if he doesn't travel with the Eagles. Schammer back is a pretty good in, as he was in some good form before injuring himself a couple of weeks back. They still have a pretty settled side and the defence looks very solid, led by B Jones. Swift out will give the likes of Stevenson, Rowe or McLernon the chance to step up and strongly support the likes of Blackwell, Foster, Gilligan, Mitchell, Browne, Schammer. C Jones is named on the bench but has a chance to start getting into some form for September.
The Royals have gone away from their top heavy set up to bring in some younger, fresher runners. Guys like Clutterbuck have stepped up and surprised a few. They will need all their runners up and firing to challenge the tigers though. Wulff, Lee and Swan will need some high levels of support from Sweet, Travers, Kommer, Moss, JON, Macaulay. Higgins and Andrews will be an interesting battle and Prior will need to start working a lot harder in my books, haven't been as impressed as I was last year, otherwise Jones will eat him alive. Smith remains the go to man and will need support down forward, whilst I think the Royals defence has been quite good, led by Blee.
Tigers should be too good.
Teams
Tigers
B J Laurie B Jones L Stevenson
HB D Crawford B Franz C Rudeforth
C A Browne J Murphy I Rowe
HF I Richardson T Handley B Schammer
FF A Foster T Lee A Gilligan
F M Andrews L Blackwell K Mitchell
Int. J Bradshaw, L Broome, A Gillespie, T Willett, C Mclernon, C Jones, B Wilkes
In I Rowe, B Schammer, J Bradshaw, L Broome, A Gillespie, T Willett
Out G Weedon, T Swift, B Saunders
Royals
B A Sweet N Blee R Maldenis
HB F Clutterbuck H Shepheard N Kommer
C S Payne P Travers C Wulff
HF S Mckenzie J Smith G Moss
FF J Oakley-Nicholls A Prior D Macaulay
F B Higgins M Swan B Lee
Int. J Birrell, J Keath, R Brookes, J Derickx, C Warrell, C Grover, B Dobson
In R Maldenis, C Warrell, H Shepheard, J Birrell, B Dobson
Out M Seal, R Smith
Swans v Sharks
The Sharks are trying to cement a top 4 berth whilst Swans are playing for pride. Even if they don't finish bottom it's been an ignonimous fall from grace. The Sharks midfield should overwhelm Swans, as it's their strength and our weakness, this year. I guess I need to start considering my new avatar, and no, I won't have a spoon.
Swans, well a couple of important ins this week in Hansen, Wolfenden and Notte. Hansen is probably the only area of the ground Swans can claim a win, I reckon, along with Amesy and the defence and Lammie in the ruck. Ames remains the only defender from last years GF victory in the side. Wolfy should add at least a bit of mongrel and fight, as does James Embley, who is under rated by Swans match committee IMO, sure, he may not be the silkiest but he'll leave his sweat on the ground for the club. Coniglio, Hinkley, Robinson, Roach, James, Wolfy, Garlett and Jacky have their work cut out for them.
The Sharks haven't been overly impressive for much of the season, but they have a strong midfield, which they should use to their advantage in this game. Stevens, Masten, Houlihan, Dalziell, O'Briens should be able to rack up the numbers against a midfield that hasn't run well defensively (their trademark last season) all year. Add Bucovaz, Hadley, Teakle, the O'Briens need to take advantage of the midfield pumping the ball in. Look out for young Henson, really liked the look of him in colts last year, in this game.
Sharks should win comfortably but as I'm writing this I'm getting an eerie feeling, maybe wind??
Teams
Swans
B S Parry T Ames S Coniglio
HB K Hams T Notte A Howard
C T Roach B Robinson A James
HF J Simpson A Hansen B Wolfenden
FF B Colreavy T Geappen J Roberts
F W Lammie D Garlett J Jacky
Emergemcy A Hunter P Richardson J Williams
Int. M Newman, D Johnston, M Outridge, J Embley
In
Out
Sharks
B A Stephen J Brennan C Yeo
HB J Mcnamara L Weller B Sheppard
C B Dalziell C Masten T Houlihan
HF R O'Brien B Bucovaz B O'Brien
FF C Leslie R Hadley L Teakle
F S Lee-Steere M Mcgough K Stevens
Int. S Henson, D Chidlow, T Howlett, L Fasolo, J Bayliss, R Young, J Slattery
In S Henson, T Howlett, L Fasolo, J Bayliss, J Slattery
Out M Brown, M Boyle
Demons v Bulldogs
This is probably the most interesting game of the weekend. If Perth can manage a win, well, the cat will be amongst the pigeons for a top 4 spot.
The Demons looked fantastic against the Royals for 1 quarter and then came and played a good, 4 quarter match against the Falcons, especially after being challenged up at the Arena. Busher has been fantastic for the dees all year, a real find, Moody continues to play good football, Zucconi seems to have provided some stability down back as well. Florio, Elari, Fiegert are good young players and along with Young, K-T, Jacobs they form a pretty good midfield.
Hayward I have heard a lot about but not seen much of, but his battle with McDougall should be a highlight. Phillips as an Emergency puzzles me, if fit he'd be in the first few picked, I would have thought, so maybe he's not quite right? He also provides a bit more pace for the side. Wilson is coming off a pretty good game, so the Perth defence is going to need to be on guard. Bairstow will be missed in shutting down some of Perth's prime movers, Hasleby and Dell-olio will need to step it up a bit.
I think the Bulldogs have too much at stake, but the Dees match up reasonably well and I can see an upset brewing.
Teams
Demons
B S Siekierka A Zucconi C Vidot
HB C Billings C Sibosado M Tedesco
C M Florio J Jacobs J Kayler-Thomson
HF M Moody J Houghton M Rogers
FF J Leeson H Busher S Armstrong
F A Mcdougall R Young J Pitt
Int. N Kane, A Elari, G Denton, J Fiegert, D Venditti, B Hodge, D Robinson, S Donovan
In J Pitt, A Elari, D Venditti, S Armstrong
Out
Bulldogs
B R Adams N Borovac R Cook
HB T Adams M Leece M Cooper
C C Amato P Hasleby C Dell-Olio
HF T Bairstow A Mccarrey B Gulley
FF R Murphy C Wilson C White
F D Hayward A Hams K Miller
Emergency D Bairstow N Phillips M Olivieri
Int. J Head, J Woods, T Mcgrath, J Palumbo
In C Amato, B Gulley, M Leece
Out A Collica, L Kelly, D Ross
and I guess, the bottom of the top 4 is still open. I've checked through a few records and there haven't been too many more even years than this years competition, from what I can see. 3 games between 3rd and bottom place.Thunder v Lions
The Thunder had their first win over the Lions earlier this year, so they are certainly on the improve. The Lions were good against Swans last week, but Swans were terrible, and the Lions need to keep winning to keep the pressure on the top 4 teams.
Peel have lost Faulks and Lycett, which could be a big loss, however, they retain their running players, which will be the key to beating Subi. Jones, Crichton, Jones, Thorntons, Brown, Eddy, Healey, Nye, Beswick, Eddy are all going to be important. P-S is an up and coming ruckman IMO, so will be good to see how he goes against Rix. Forward, where are the goals going to come from and who is going to stop Broady, they are the questions. Although Herring, Battye and Holmes are all capable of kicking goals, but it looks the weakness, to me.
The Lions don't have too many standout players, apart from Broady and Horsley, but they are a solid, workmanlike unit, much like the coach. Bristow did a lot of good work in close last week. A couple of youngsters had good matches, young Waters is one to keep an eye on, classy finisher and knows where the goals are. Randall was back to his best form last week, stopped a lot of sorties forward, Cockie will be a very welcome edition, was playing pretty good football early in the year. Anthony may be out, but he was OK last week, not outstanding, but by all reports he loves it down at Subi and you could see they were trying to get him into the game early last week.
I think Subi will prevail, in a pretty tight struggle.
Teams
Thunder
B M Battye J Flaherty D Mcfarlane
HB J Jones A Thornton M Green
C J Crichton R Nye B Thornton
HF R Healey B Holmes K Thornton
FF J Warren R Herring M Brown
F P Pohlenz-Saw R Beswick B Jones
Int. D Beswick, C Eddy, B Gillam, R Mason, A Payrits, B Triplett, B Wilson
In R Nye, D Beswick, C Eddy, A Payrits, B Wilson
Out P Faulks, S Lycett
Lions
B R Forrest C Wheeler K Bloxsidge
HB B Randall A Parker A Davey
C D Hughes C Phelan S Hildebrandt
HF P Hassett B Stevenson J Joyce
FF A Pickett B Broadhurst D Rumble
F M Rix J Bristow K Horsley
Int. R Blechynden, A Cockie, G Hampson, R Kerr, S Ward, R Waters, S Worthington
In B Stevenson, G Hampson, A Cockie, S Ward
Out J Anthony
Tigers v Royals
The Tigers are sitting in second spot, being a little up and down, whilst the Royals seem to be finishing the season pretty strongly. The Royals can keep their slim hopes of finishing in the top 4 alive if they win this one and the Tigers have a few outs???
Firstly, congrats to Crawford on 150 games.
The Tiges have Swift and Weedon out, but Weedon possibly coming back in if he doesn't travel with the Eagles. Schammer back is a pretty good in, as he was in some good form before injuring himself a couple of weeks back. They still have a pretty settled side and the defence looks very solid, led by B Jones. Swift out will give the likes of Stevenson, Rowe or McLernon the chance to step up and strongly support the likes of Blackwell, Foster, Gilligan, Mitchell, Browne, Schammer. C Jones is named on the bench but has a chance to start getting into some form for September.The Royals have gone away from their top heavy set up to bring in some younger, fresher runners. Guys like Clutterbuck have stepped up and surprised a few. They will need all their runners up and firing to challenge the tigers though. Wulff, Lee and Swan will need some high levels of support from Sweet, Travers, Kommer, Moss, JON, Macaulay. Higgins and Andrews will be an interesting battle and Prior will need to start working a lot harder in my books, haven't been as impressed as I was last year, otherwise Jones will eat him alive. Smith remains the go to man and will need support down forward, whilst I think the Royals defence has been quite good, led by Blee.
Tigers should be too good.
Teams
Tigers
B J Laurie B Jones L Stevenson
HB D Crawford B Franz C Rudeforth
C A Browne J Murphy I Rowe
HF I Richardson T Handley B Schammer
FF A Foster T Lee A Gilligan
F M Andrews L Blackwell K Mitchell
Int. J Bradshaw, L Broome, A Gillespie, T Willett, C Mclernon, C Jones, B Wilkes
In I Rowe, B Schammer, J Bradshaw, L Broome, A Gillespie, T Willett
Out G Weedon, T Swift, B Saunders
Royals
B A Sweet N Blee R Maldenis
HB F Clutterbuck H Shepheard N Kommer
C S Payne P Travers C Wulff
HF S Mckenzie J Smith G Moss
FF J Oakley-Nicholls A Prior D Macaulay
F B Higgins M Swan B Lee
Int. J Birrell, J Keath, R Brookes, J Derickx, C Warrell, C Grover, B Dobson
In R Maldenis, C Warrell, H Shepheard, J Birrell, B Dobson
Out M Seal, R Smith
Swans v Sharks
The Sharks are trying to cement a top 4 berth whilst Swans are playing for pride. Even if they don't finish bottom it's been an ignonimous fall from grace. The Sharks midfield should overwhelm Swans, as it's their strength and our weakness, this year. I guess I need to start considering my new avatar, and no, I won't have a spoon.
Swans, well a couple of important ins this week in Hansen, Wolfenden and Notte. Hansen is probably the only area of the ground Swans can claim a win, I reckon, along with Amesy and the defence and Lammie in the ruck. Ames remains the only defender from last years GF victory in the side. Wolfy should add at least a bit of mongrel and fight, as does James Embley, who is under rated by Swans match committee IMO, sure, he may not be the silkiest but he'll leave his sweat on the ground for the club. Coniglio, Hinkley, Robinson, Roach, James, Wolfy, Garlett and Jacky have their work cut out for them.
The Sharks haven't been overly impressive for much of the season, but they have a strong midfield, which they should use to their advantage in this game. Stevens, Masten, Houlihan, Dalziell, O'Briens should be able to rack up the numbers against a midfield that hasn't run well defensively (their trademark last season) all year. Add Bucovaz, Hadley, Teakle, the O'Briens need to take advantage of the midfield pumping the ball in. Look out for young Henson, really liked the look of him in colts last year, in this game.
Sharks should win comfortably but as I'm writing this I'm getting an eerie feeling, maybe wind??
Teams
Swans
B S Parry T Ames S Coniglio
HB K Hams T Notte A Howard
C T Roach B Robinson A James
HF J Simpson A Hansen B Wolfenden
FF B Colreavy T Geappen J Roberts
F W Lammie D Garlett J Jacky
Emergemcy A Hunter P Richardson J Williams
Int. M Newman, D Johnston, M Outridge, J Embley
In
Out
Sharks
B A Stephen J Brennan C Yeo
HB J Mcnamara L Weller B Sheppard
C B Dalziell C Masten T Houlihan
HF R O'Brien B Bucovaz B O'Brien
FF C Leslie R Hadley L Teakle
F S Lee-Steere M Mcgough K Stevens
Int. S Henson, D Chidlow, T Howlett, L Fasolo, J Bayliss, R Young, J Slattery
In S Henson, T Howlett, L Fasolo, J Bayliss, J Slattery
Out M Brown, M Boyle
Demons v Bulldogs
This is probably the most interesting game of the weekend. If Perth can manage a win, well, the cat will be amongst the pigeons for a top 4 spot.
The Demons looked fantastic against the Royals for 1 quarter and then came and played a good, 4 quarter match against the Falcons, especially after being challenged up at the Arena. Busher has been fantastic for the dees all year, a real find, Moody continues to play good football, Zucconi seems to have provided some stability down back as well. Florio, Elari, Fiegert are good young players and along with Young, K-T, Jacobs they form a pretty good midfield.
Hayward I have heard a lot about but not seen much of, but his battle with McDougall should be a highlight. Phillips as an Emergency puzzles me, if fit he'd be in the first few picked, I would have thought, so maybe he's not quite right? He also provides a bit more pace for the side. Wilson is coming off a pretty good game, so the Perth defence is going to need to be on guard. Bairstow will be missed in shutting down some of Perth's prime movers, Hasleby and Dell-olio will need to step it up a bit.
I think the Bulldogs have too much at stake, but the Dees match up reasonably well and I can see an upset brewing.
Teams
Demons
B S Siekierka A Zucconi C Vidot
HB C Billings C Sibosado M Tedesco
C M Florio J Jacobs J Kayler-Thomson
HF M Moody J Houghton M Rogers
FF J Leeson H Busher S Armstrong
F A Mcdougall R Young J Pitt
Int. N Kane, A Elari, G Denton, J Fiegert, D Venditti, B Hodge, D Robinson, S Donovan
In J Pitt, A Elari, D Venditti, S Armstrong
Out
Bulldogs
B R Adams N Borovac R Cook
HB T Adams M Leece M Cooper
C C Amato P Hasleby C Dell-Olio
HF T Bairstow A Mccarrey B Gulley
FF R Murphy C Wilson C White
F D Hayward A Hams K Miller
Emergency D Bairstow N Phillips M Olivieri
Int. J Head, J Woods, T Mcgrath, J Palumbo
In C Amato, B Gulley, M Leece
Out A Collica, L Kelly, D Ross
