Raiders Revenge.
CCU Host But Will They Play?
Falcons ‘Must Win’ Game.
Northern Raiders and Melton Wolves will be playing off in the Championship game come October 14th, according to 60% of the vote from last weeks poll.
Sunday 3rd September – Lakeside Recreation Reserve, Pakenham 10:30am
Northern Raiders (8-1) 1st Place vs Monash Barbarians (4-3-1) 4th Place
Last time they met: Raiders 6 Barbarians 14
A shock loss last time by the Raiders to the Barbarians. This loss obviously gave them the kick up the bum they needed as they have not been troubled since winning the next 5 straight (4 plus a forfeit). They look to continue this trend with the continuation of the ground and pound with RB #10 Jesse Spiropoulos , RB/WR #24 Ben Norton and RB #23 Daniel Strangis. A loss here will make it interesting with Melton just 2 games behind the league leader. Injuries might be the only thing stopping them from going undefeated for the rest of the season. Unfortunately for Monash the run game will be far too strong for their defense and should win comfortably in the end. The biggest question is when will QB #12 Jamie De Cicco be back under centre from his hand injury and will coach Faure continue playing O Line deep into the playoffs?
The fate of Monash will mainly rest on the performance of QB #29 Richie Truong and the D Line. The line will have to stop the Raiders preferred option plays if they have any chance of winning or being competitive. Both teams have improved since the last match up but the Raiders have more offensive weapons in their arsenal. For the Barbs RB #42 Montell Wickremasinghe didn’t play in the first game so he might be the ingredient that is needed to win. A loss here will put a dent in their playoff hopes.
With the skill levels of both teams, this is rightfully given “Game of the Week” honours.
Prediction – Raiders 28 Barbarians 12
Sunday 3rd September – Lakeside Recreation Reserve, Pakenham 2:00pm
CCU (0-8) Last place vs Bendigo Dragons (2-6-1) 6th Place
Last time they met: CCU 6 Dragons 34
What can you say about CCU? I guess the question on everyone’s lips is will CCU field a team this week? With that question in mind, I have nothing else I can really say except wait and see.
Bendigo you disappoint me. However, I have faith this week that you will get your 3rd victory this season. You may not even need to break a sweat to do so but I sure hope I am wrong.
Prediction (If no Forfeit) – CCU 14 Dragons 30
Sunday 3rd September – Henry Turner Reserve, Footscray 10:30am
Western Crusaders II 3rd Place (5-3) V Ballarat Falcons (4-5) 5th Place
Last time they met: Crusaders 15 Falcons 12
The Crusaders have been a bit of a surprise to most this season. They haven’t really got a good run going since the 3-0 start, however. Getting game time into the rookies and trying to lock down a playoff spot will be on the agenda. They can dent the Falcons hopes of a playoff berth with a win. The biggest question here is, what’s happened to the live feeds?
Ballarat needs to stop the slide before it’s too late, otherwise, they can kiss the playoffs good bye well and truly. The week off should see some key players return from niggling injuries and QB #20 James Stephens, although solid, needs to find that early season form. He will be relying on the usual suspects of WR #81 Eddie Carey, WR #18 Duncan McIntosh, WR #13 Mark Hocking and RB #21 Peter Mckay. Defensively they can’t continue to rely on just #69 Dave Parker. Some of the other D Line players need to make a name for themselves.
The Falcons should see themselves with the W in this one keeping them in touch with the top 4. This could have been given the game of the week title but just missed out.
Prediction – Crusaders 14 Falcons 18
BYE – Melton Wolves.
The Wolves have the luxury of having an extra week off after the league wide bye. It will give the injured players time to recover and more time to come up with a game plan to beat the Raiders the following week. This might hinder them after not playing for 2 weeks. Plenty of time will be given to work out how they will stop the Raiders running game.
