DIVISION 1
BOTH Rocherlea and South Launceston are self-assured they have what it takes to topple each other on Saturday.
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The two harbour premiership ambitions with the Bulldogs having a better run to date at 11 wins and two losses in second position, putting them 16 points clear of the reigning premiers in fourth.
South were three-goal winners in round 6 and coach Leigh Harding said he is pleased to have the experience of Jake Laskey, Rory Mansell and Adam Viney at his disposal once again.
“There has been eight games since then… they are definitely going to be a lot better than they were last time,” Harding said.
“We’ve made no reference to ladder positions, we had a meeting about three weeks ago and made it our focus to win every game right through to the end of the season.”
Country Tigers coach Lyndon Stubbs said his charges must become more consistent.
“There were times we were well on top (against Bracknell) but we didn’t make that count on the scoreboard,” he said.
“Our structure is a lot different to the last time we played South, I’m reasonably confident this week.”
The winner will take home the Mayor’s Cup in support of anti-bullying organisation Angels Hope.
RELATED: NTFA divisions 1 & 2 round 13 wrap
LONGFORD, which is out of finals contention, runs into a Hillwood side that has lost three out of its past four matches – a trend Sharks coach Jacob Lowe is keen to snap at Tigerland.
“We are wanting to get back to a few basics and playing footy that we were in the first half of the year over the next month,” Lowe said.
“It’s going to be hard for us to now finish top three but we have reassessed a little bit.”
He said Alex Cusick and Ryan Choveaux would return with Jesse Higgs and Jordan Grieves unavailable.
The Tigers fell three points short of Hillwood in May and interim coach Roydon Peters said he has been impressed with his side’s character of late.
Skipper Beau Thorp will play after a month in Europe and Ben Chugg is a chance to return from injury.
Despite GEORGE TOWN relinquishing a 52-point quarter-time lead in losing to Bridgenorth last week, coach Allan O’Sign could only find positives looking forward to third-placed Scottsdale at Blue Gum Park.
“We played our best footy in the first half followed by our worst footy so we just need to try and bridge the gap,” O’Sign said.
Magpies coach Geoff Mohr pointed out O’Sign, Josh Knight and the Saints’ midfield brigade as potential targets.
DELORAINE hosts Bridgenorth in a battle of the eighth and seventh ranked outfits.
The Roos were 10 points the better team last time and have replaced Shaughan Killalea with Oliver Smith.
BRACKNELL has the bye.
DIVISION 2
Old Scotch will be out to continue their winning streak when they travel to fifth-placed St Pats on Saturday.
Unbeaten in 2017, the Thistles come into the match having played out their closest contest of the season last weekend, registering a six-point home win over Lilydale.
Coach Jake Terry said while the Saints were a dangerous side, his charges wouldn’t approach the game differently to any other.
“We were pretty undermanned this week so there’ll be some blokes putting their hand up to come back in the side after having a week off and we should be ready to go,” Terry said.
“They’ve got a pretty good midfield so we’ll have to be able to shut that down, but nothing really changes from our end.”
St Pats will welcome Sean Stevenson and Nick Spencer into the side which went down to East Coast in Pyengana last weekend.
“We expect to win every game we play and this week more than ever is a chance for us to take a big scalp,” coach Alex Russell said.
“We really pushed Scotch in the first game we played them up until three quarter time and then they kind of ran away.
“A few of our boys were pretty dirty on that and we’ll look to mend that this week.”
Second-placed EVANDALE have the chance to lock up a top two spot when they host Tamar Cats at Morven Park.
The Country Eagles lose Warwick Johnson and Mick Rainbow (injury) and James Miller (unavailable) but will welcome back Bradley Scott-Power for his first game in six weeks.
Coach Anthony Axton said a fourth consecutive win would leave his team well-placed for finals.
“We certainly want to finish top two with the finals structure the way it is, we don’t want it to come down to percentage and other teams losing and stuff that,” he said.
“They’re a pretty dangerous side, especially if it’s a heavy ground they’ve got some big bodies so they’re certainly a side not to take lightly.”
Damian Rhind’s PERTH will travel to Bridport for the first time on Saturday as the Magpies attempt to keep hold of their place in the top six.
“We played fairly well last week in patches, but we still need to try and put a four quarter effort together,” Rhind said.
“We’re definitely trying to make sure we finish in that sixth spot or in finals for the year and this game is crucial for us to come away with four points to try and finish in the finals race.”
OLD LAUNCESTONIANS coach Wayne Kirby has signalled a number of changes to the side which went goalless against Evandale last week.
The Blues will face an East Coast side which has won seven of its past eight games.
“Last week was pathetic, embarrassing and disrespectful and we will make several changes,” Kirby said.
UNI-MOWBRAY will take on Meander Valley Suns at University Oval.
