SWFL round ten preview: Road to the finals begins

Round 10 marks a return to the beginning, with each of the match-ups a repeat of the first round of the season.

Many of the teams come into the games with very different expectations than they would have had ahead of round one, so it will be interesting to see how many of the results repeat themselves.

Check out our preview of the round’s games and tell us who you think will win.

The Harvey Bulls have picked up just the two wins so far this season but they have been much more competitive than you would expect from their ladder position.

Last week, they fell just short in a shoot-out with the Eaton Boomers and became just the fifth team to break the 100-point barrier for the season despite missing their leading goal kicker.

Scoring hasn’t been an issue for the Bulls, but defense has. The Bulls have conceded an average of almost 82 points a game, which is well above the league average of 68.

It will be interesting to see how the defense holds up against Busselton, who is the league’s lowest scoring team.

The Magpies have missed some key forwards for large parts of the season, and as a result they have scored an average of just 58 points per game.

Busselton won the first meeting between the two, but has been on a disappointing run of late – winning just one of its past five games. The Magpies are yet to win a game on the road and the trip to Harvey may just be their best chance.

Prediction: Harvey Bulls by 15 points.

The game between South Bunbury and Carey Park may just be one of the most evenly matched of the round.

The teams sit in third and fourth position on the ladder respectively, with records of 5-4. They are separated by less than one percentage point.

The Tigers have overcome a slow start to the season and picked up four wins in their last five games, on the back of a greater spread of goal kickers. Early in the season, the Tigers relied too heavily on Leigh Kohlmann to hit the scoreboard but have found more people to back him up over the last month or so.

Carey Park started the season on a tear, winning four of its first six games and sitting on top of the ladder just three weeks ago. The Panthers’ scoring ability has dried up a little bit over the last month, they are still the league’s highest scoring team.

Last time they met, the Panthers handed the Tigers their biggest loss of the season so far. Since then, the Tigers have lost just one game by more than two goals, so you’d have to imagine this will be a close one.

Prediction: Carey Park by six points

Both Donnybrook’s and Harvey Brunswick Leschenault’s seasons have taken vastly different trajectories since the Lions claimed the win in round one.

The Dons have catapulted themselves into top spot and are the favourite to claim the premiership, while the Lions have had an up-and-down season so far.

The Dons have slightly improved their scoring over the last three weeks or so, but their success is based on a defense that has conceded almost 10 points less per game than anyone else all season.

Harvey Brunswick Leschenault hasn’t particularly been known for its scoring either, so it will be interesting to see if the Lions are able to kick a winning score.

The Lions have a lot of talent and can never be counted out however, having won a number of close games throughout the season.

Prediction: Donnybrook by 31 points.

Last time these two teams met, the Eagles were favourites and claimed a comfortable 33-point win on the road.

However the Eagles’ season has gone downhill from there and they are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak.

Fourth quarters are the Eagles’ weakness. They kicked just the one goal in the last three quarters, while conceding 12 goals and giving up two three-quarter-time leads.

Augusta Margaret River has been a bit inconsistent across the season, but the Hawks have one of the stronger forward lines in the competition, with Jack Hick and Matt Jukes kicking 41 goals between them – the most between any two teammates this season.

The Hawks will come into the game as favourites this week and will expect to claim their sixth win of the season, but if the Eagles continue to show their improvement as they have over the last month, it won’t be as easy as expected.

Prediction: Augusta Margaret River by 12 points. 

Last time they met, the Boomers picked up arguably the upset of the season. The Boomers kicked six goals to one in the final quarter to run over the top of the reigning premier to claim a 17-point win.

The Boomers have been inconsistent since that day, going 4-4 over the next eight rounds.

Eaton is one of the league’s highest-scoring teams and with the recent addition of the Humphries brothers, who kicked six goals between them in their first game as Boomers, they have even more firepower at their disposal.

That will worry Bunbury, who has shown a tendency to leak big scores despite sitting second on the ladder. The Bulldogs are the only team in the top seven with a percentage under 100, which is more astounding when you consider their 6-3 record.

However the Bulldogs are on a run and have won three straight since their round six loss to Donnybrook. Jesse Gribble has been a star over the last month, so the Boomers will need to stop his game-winning influence on Sunday.

Prediction: Eaton Boomers by 22 points.

Read more from round nine of the South West Football League season: