DIVISION 1
BRACKNELL will host Rocherlea – its arch nemesis of recent times – in a stand-alone game on Sunday.
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It was the Suburban Tigers that clinched last year’s premiership, but the Redlegs won the rematch easily in round 5 and will be bolstered by the services of 2008 Hawthorn premiership player Campbell Brown for the second installment.
“We’ve got a good rivalry with them and had some really close battles with them, we just have to stick to our structures,” Bracknell boss Gary Shipton said.
Redleg Glen Dawson (seven goals) hurt Rocherlea badly last time around and Rocherlea, which is coming off the bye, has improved following a mid-season form slump.
Rocherlea coach Lyndon Stubbs said the next month of football would test his players’ mettle. “This is going to be an interesting game if we can create some pressure around the ball,” he said.
The other three matches will be played on Saturday, and SCOTTSDALE can make gains in the wrestle for a top-three finish with a win over Longford.
The sixth-placed Country Tigers received a confidence boost from downing Bridgenorth last week, while Magpies coach Geoff Mohr was impressed with his side’s triumph over Hillwood.
“We’ve got a big three weeks ahead to make sure we consolidate that win... if we start dropping games now, it will make things very difficult,” Mohr said.
“We need to shut down Longford’s key forwards (Baden Alexander and Jonathon Smart) and that starts from our midfield pressure.”
Longford will be without Brad Trotter (suspended) and interim coach Roydon Peters said veteran Ben Chugg would need to pass a fitness test with Callum Walker to return. “The boys are staring to play the way I want them to play… (and) everyone contributed in some way last week,” he said.
Scottsdale defeated Longford 11.9 (75) to 7.8 (50) in early May.
BRIDGENORTH coach Patrick Mackrell said his charges were keen to make it one-all against George Town this year at Parrot Park.
“We are not too far off the mark. We just need to set the game up in the first quarter,” Mackrell said.
Mackrell and Darren Long (suspended) will sit it out, while Saints coach Allan O’Sign welcomes back Callum Aalbreght. “It’s a winnable game for us, we just need to do the basics well,” he said.
SOUTH LAUNCESTON is in fine form and encounters Deloraine, which had it tough against Bracknell, at Youngtown Oval.
The Bulldogs were 133 points better nine rounds ago when Todd Spilsbury, Brad Etchell (four goals) and Clinton Drake (three) ran rampant.
Shannon Mulvey will replace Matt Mitchell in the Roos line-up.
HILLWOOD has the bye.
DIVISION 2
IT is well known that Old Scotch is again the team to beat.
The notion is inevitable when the Thistles have won the past four flags and unbeaten on their journey to an unprecedented fifth straight.
However, Lilydale coach Thane Bardenhagen said Scotch is beatable and is confident his charges, who finished runners-up last season, can push the competition’s benchmark on Saturday at the NTCA Ground.
The Demons fell short by 10 points in round 1.
“We will try and get one back on them. It’s expected to be a bit damp so contested footy is going to be the focus,” Bardenhagen said.
“They’re a fierce rival for us and I think our best footy is good enough as we showed last year in the semi-final.”
Lilydale loses Reuben Rothwell but regains Jack Venn, while Old Scotch co-coach Jake Terry said Ryan Worn would play and Tom Allison was a chance to return for the epilepsy awareness match.
“We’ve got Lilydale, St Pats and East Coast on the run home so it’s a finals series before the finals series and we will finalise our best line-up over the next few weeks,” Terry said.
EAST COAST and St Pats will clash at Pyengana with Swans coach Ned Hyland hopeful a big crowd can help his side overturn a three-point loss earlier in the season.
“We were hit hard by injuries last week but we managed to hang in there with Evandale,” Hyland said.
“We led in the last quarter but St Pats got over us by three points earlier on so we probably owe them one for that and playing teams for the second time means we can start to measure our development.”
Swan Callan Leonard will miss with St Pats coach Alex Russell forced to swap Claye Young and Bradey McIntyre for Harry Chapman and Matthew Lynam.
“Having Dakota Bannister, Nick Child, Jack Ruston and Michael Musicka it is an awesome team on paper to have but if you can nullify them as much as possible you have a good chance to beat them," Russell said. The Saints are four points clear of East Coast in a three-way battle for third spot with Lilydale.
PERTH is desperate for a victory at home against Tamar Cats after four-consecutive losses and its finals chances on the line.
“We’ve only got four games left and we needs to make sure we get some more wins on the board,” Magpies coach Damian Rhind.
The Cats toppled the Pies by two goals to start the season but have dropped off significantly.
OLD LAUNCESTONIANS face a tough task against second-placed Evandale at Invermay Park.
The Blues went head-to-head in going down to the Country Eagles by 22 points in April, while BRIDPORT requires a serious turnaround in fortunes against Uni-Mowbray with Lilydale smashing Brett Laskey’s men by 35 goals last week.
PROSPECT runs into similarly-ranked side Meander Valley at Prospect Park.