SWFL round six preview: unpredictable season keeps on giving

The defeats mean Carey Park now sit on top of the ladder, with the Panthers form likely to have been a surprise to many.

On the other hand, Collie and Harvey were widely tipped to feature late into the finals yet they sit in ninth and tenth on the ladder respectively.

Check out our preview of the weekend’s games and let us know who you think will win.

Round six kicks off on Saturday afternoon with the annual Peter Betti memorial cup match between Donnybrook and Bunbury.

Donnybrook have found their groove over the last month and have become one of the most consistent teams, despite a poor start to the season.

The Dons have had the strongest defence all season, giving up an average of just 52 points per game, and if players like Chris Atthowe, Jace Cormack and Keiran Hug are able to regularly hit the scoreboard and support Sam Lowrie up forward, they will continue to be hard to beat.

However Bunbury poses a difficult challenge, despite their recent loss.

It will be a great battle in the midfield as the Bulldogs’ midfield depth would be one of the strongest, alongside the Dons.

But the Bulldogs will need to find some targets up forward if they want to kick a winning score. Brett Peake has been outstanding all season and sits third on the goal kicking tally, but Travis Justins is the only other Bulldog to have kicked more than four goals.

Prediction: Donnybrook by 16 points.

The Indigenous Recognition game on Saturday evening is a match up of two very different teams.

Carey Park are flying and sit on top of the ladder, while also averaging 81 points a game as the league’s highest scoring team.

The Panthers have defied pre-season expectations and have been boosted by the recruitment of Jarrod, Herman and Gregory Humphries, with all three regularly in the team’s best performers each week.

Collie, on the other hand, will come into the game with very little confidence after yet another disappointing loss and an ever-expanding injury list.

Ryan Crowley’s season is done after he suffered a broken collarbone and captain Matt Blackford won’t be seen on the field for quite a while either, leaving the Eagles to call up many inexperienced players just to fill the team.

With the Panthers playing a quick and exciting style of football and the Eagles coming in undermanned, this game has the makings of yet another heavy defeat for Collie. However considering how unpredictable the season has been so far, you can’t quite rule the Eagles out.

Prediction: Carey Park by 68 points.

The Harvey’s first game under new coach Brendon Jones didn’t go to plan, with the Bulls managing just five goals against Donnybrook.

The Bulls have talent in all areas of the ground and have shown they have the ability to kick big scores, as they are the league’s second-highest scoring team.

The problem for the Bulls is that they have a habit of letting teams score goals quickly, which could be an issue when they come up against the league’s equal-leading goal kicker, Leigh Kohlmann.

The battle between Kohlmann, who has already kicked 18 goals this year, and Harvey’s Brett Lofthouse, who has been the Bulls top four or five players each week, will be key to the game.

If the Bulls can stop Kohlmann from hitting the scoreboard, they’d feel comfortable in picking up a win as no other Tiger has kicked more than five goals across the season.

Prediction: South Bunbury by five points.

Sunday kicks off with an interesting match between Busselton and Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault.

Busselton have been one of the competition’s most inconsistent teams this season and are coming off a disappointing game against Carey Park last week.

With regular forward targets Aidan Fraser and Jed Kemp missing to injury, the Magpies will be hoping Reegan Mrsich and Steve Cameron will be able to continue their fine form with the two forwards kicking two thirds of Busselton’s goals over the last month.

Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault were impressive in their win over Eaton and coach Derek Hall would have been happy to see the load shared with eight separate goal kickers.

However scoring is still an issue for the Lions, as Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault are the only team in the league to average less than 60 points a game and no Lion has kicked more than five goals.

Which ever way this game goes, it’s probably going to be a tight one.

Prediction: Busselton by two points.

Arguably the most exciting match of the round is the Sunday afternoon game between Eaton and Augusta-Margaret River.

The Boomers have been one of the surprise packets of the season and have claimed some important wins in the first five rounds.

However the Boomers will need to work on their consistency. At their best, they can beat anyone – as shown by their come-from-behind win over Bunbury in round one – but they can also put on some not-so-great performances. It will be interesting to see which Boomers team shows up this weeks.

The Hawks have shown themselves to be much more comfortable playing away from home, and they will be looking forward to the trip to Eaton, especially after picking up a win over Bunbury last weekend.

Hawks forwards Jack Hick and Matt Jukes have been working well together over the last few weeks and have combined for 18 goals over the last three rounds.

Both teams are very strong when they’re at the best, so it will be interesting to see who wants to win more.

Prediction: Augusta-Margaret River by 22 points.

Read more from round five of the SWFL 2018 season: