Rd 15 Preview from the Budget

[Wedgie]

ARE MAGPIES UP TO EAGLES STANDARD?

After dropping three games in a row, Port is back in the groove with back-to-back wins over Norwood and Sturt to stabilise its position in the top five.

But are the Magpies a genuine contender? Wins over two bottom four ranked sides in the past fortnight have been impressive, but it’s against the top echelon who they’ll ultimately be judged against. This weekend they get their chance against the Eagles at Alberton in what is a real acid test for Tim Ginever and his men.

With three clubs having the bye, Round 15 concludes on Sunday with two interesting matches. The Glenelg v South Adelaide battle at the Bay should be a beauty, which the Tigers in particular need to treat as a mini-final. Already a game behind the fifth-placed Panthers, Glenelg cannot afford to lose this match and drop two games back. The club’s season is on the line.

The third and final match of the round is at Broadspectrum Oval where West Adelaide hosts Sturt. There’s still plenty of footy to be played in 2006, but thoughts of the dreaded wooden spoon will no doubt enter the minds of both sets of supporters at some stage. Pride is certainly at stake.


MAGPIES vs EAGLES
Port has corrected its season with two big wins in the past two weeks, including last Saturday’s demolition of the Double Blues which was its highest score and biggest winning margin of the season.

But this weekend’s assignment against the Eagles is a far tougher ask. Ron Fuller’s men are on a seven-game winning streak and will be out to reverse their Round 6 loss to the Magpies – their most recent defeat.

Both sides are targeting a top three finish to give them every chance come the major round, and with fourth-ranked Central District breathing heavily down their necks, neither can afford a slip-up.

The Eagles are on fire at the minute, but they’ve been up for a long time and could be in for a letdown soon, particularly after their stirring victory over the Dogs.


BLOODS vs DOUBLE BLUES
There are perhaps no more dreaded words in football than “wooden spoon” and you can bet the topic will come up amongst supporters at Broadspectrum Oval this weekend.

West Adelaide currently has a reasonably tight grip on the unwanted prize and will almost certainly be the 2006 recipient should it lose to Sturt. However, a win will not only thrust the spoon in Sturt’s sights, it will also give the beleaguered Bloods a much-needed morale boost. Coach Weidemann gave his charges an almighty spray following last week’s loss to Norwood, which he hopes will translate into a more determined showing.

The Double Blues have a psychological edge over West though, having won their past eight encounters, and in what looms as a dour struggle they should get home with the points again.


TIGERS vs PANTHERS
This is a huge game for Glenelg which must win to keep pressure on South Adelaide for fifth spot.

A Tiger victory will mean the two clubs are only separated by percentage, however a Panther triumph will push the southerners two games clear and go a long way towards cementing their first finals appearance since 1992.

Coming off the bye, the Bays have had ample time to reflect on their past three outings – all losses – and in front of their home crowd will be keen to make amends.

But even though they lost to North Adelaide by eight goals last Saturday, South has shown vast improvement in the past month and should prevail.


Courtesy of the South Australian Football Budget
Story by Kieran Hall

[Wedgie]

And some stats for the 3 games this weekend from Phil H:

PORT v EAGLES
2.15pm Saturday July 15 @ Alberton Oval
All Time Record : Played 48, Port won 29, Eagles won 19
All Time @ Alberton : Played 18, Port won 12, Eagles won 6
All Recent Encounters : Port have won 3 of the last 4
Recent @ Alberton : Eagles have won 3 of the last 4
Recent Results
2006 Rd 6 May 7 @ Thebarton Port 17.11.113 d Eagles 14.15.99 by 14pts
2005 PF Sept 25 @ Adelaide Eagles 15.13.103 d Port 5.12.42 by 61pts
2005 QF Sept 11 @ Adelaide Port 10.13.73 d Eagles 8.7.55 by 18pts
2005 Rd 15 July 10 @ Woodville Port 21.10.136 d Eagles 12.8.80 by 56pts
2005 Rd 8 May 14 @ Alberton Eagles 20.12.132 d Port 11.12.78 by 54pts
2004 Rd 23 Sept 4 @ Woodville Eagles 19.13.127 d Port 11.10.76 by 51pts
2004 Rd 16 July 17 @ Alberton Port 15.14.104 d Eagles 11.10.76 by 28pts
2004 Rd 8 May 22 @ Adelaide Eagles 17.11.113 d Port 8.4.52 by 61pts
Road Ahead – Port: North @ Alberton, Glenelg @ Glenelg, Bye
Road Ahead – Eagles: Sturt @ Unley, West @ Woodville, South @ Noarlunga
Media Coverage: ABC TV from 2.30pm, Life FM 107.9 from 2.00pm (live on http://www.life.on.net)

WEST v STURT
2.20pm Sunday July 16 @ Broadspectrum Oval
1907-2006 Record : Played 227, Sturt won 118, West won 108, Drawn 1
All Time @ Broadspectrum : Played 46, West won 23, Sturt won n 23
All Recent Encounters : Sturt have won last 8, West last win Rd 9 (May25) 2003 @ Richmond
Recent @ Broadspectrum : Sturt have won last 3
Recent Results
2006 Rd 6 May 6 @ Unley Sturt 23.12.150 d West 15.8.98 by 52pts
2005 Rd 23 Sept 3 @ Unley Sturt 11.8.74 d West 5.8.38 by 36pts
2005 Rd 16 July 16 @ Unley Sturt 14.17.101 d West 3.8.26 by 75pts
2005 Rd 5 April 23 @ Br’spectrum Sturt 17.9.111 d West 16.10.106 by 5 pts
2004 Rd 16 July 17 @ Br’spectrum Sturt 17.13.115 d West 12.8.80 by 35pts
2004 Rd 8 May 22 @ Unley Sturt 15.15.105 d West 12.10.82 by 23pts
Road Ahead – West: Glenelg @ Glenelg, Eagles @ Woodville, North @ Broadspectrum
Road Ahead – Sturt: Eagles @ Unley, Bye, Central @ Adelaide
Media Coverage: Live Crosses on 1197am RPH Adelaide

GLENELG v SOUTH
2.20pm Sunday July 16 @ Glenelg Oval
All Time Record : Played 196, Glenelg won 108, South won 87, Drawn 1
All Time @ Glenelg : Played 86, Glenelg won 52, South won 33, Drawn 1
All Recent Encounters : South have won 3 of the last 5
Recent @ Glenelg : South have won 4 of last 7
Recent Results
2006 Rd 6 May 6 @ Noarlunga Glenelg 13.15.93 d South 12.11.83 by 10pts
2005 Rd 13 June 25 @ Noarlunga South 12.10.82 d Glenelg 10.15.75 by 7pts
2005 Rd 5 April 23 @ Glenelg South 18.12.130 d Glenelg 13.18.96 by 34pts
2004 Rd 20 Aug 14 @ Adelaide Glenelg 9.20.74 d South 6.10.46 by 28pts
2004 Rd 12 June 19 @ Glenelg South 6.11.47 d Glenelg 5.9.39 by 8pts
2004 Rd 4 April 24 @ Noarlunga Glenelg 13.12.90 d South 8.14.62 by 28pts
Road Ahead – Glenelg: West @ Glenelg, Port @ Glenelg, Norwood @ Coopers
Road Ahead – South: Bye, Central @ Hamra Homes, Eagles @ Noarlunga
Media Coverage: 1197am RPH Adelaide from 1.30am (live on http://www.rphadelaide.org.au)

[Wedgie]

My picks:

Eagles and South (both away teams) but for the life of me I can't work out who to pick out of Sturt and West.
I'll go for West only because they're favs with the bookies.

[Jimmy]

eags
south
sturt with my heart...hmm

[mal]

My picks:

Eagles and South (both away teams) but for the life of me I can't work out who to pick out of Sturt and West.
I'll go for West only because they're favs with the bookies.

Warning warning WEDGIE:

If you picked the bookies fav last week with THORNTON you
would have tipped WA to beat NW last week !