by The Bedge » Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:28 am
Interesting last couple of rounds across the grades!
Grade 1
Parafield Gardens and Riverside are battling it out to see who will avoid relegation. Parafield finish the season with Salisbury West and Craigmore - hard to see a win coming in either of those games, whilst Riverside have One Tree Hill and then Virginia - should get 1/2 wins, but they're 7pts behind PG as well, so need to scrape together more points in the final couple games.
Dublin and Craigmore are in a battle for 4th spot, only 2 pts between them, but Dublin finish with Virginia and Salisbury West - two likely losses, whereas Craigmore have Angle Vale and Parafield Gardens - both winnable games. You would think he Blues will keep 4th spot and play Westies first final.
Grade 2
Last round is shaping up as a beauty - Angle Vale v ATCO, in a match that could decide who stays up and who goes down. Whilst ATCO hold a ~10pt buffer over Angle Vale, they play Smithfield this week who must win to stay in the finals hunt, whereas Angle Vale have Adelaide Warriors. Should ATCO end up relegated will make like interesting - their B grade are dominating Grade 4 and sitting second in Grade 5 after getting lifelines earlier in the year when they cited a mass player loss and were shifted down grades.
There is a fair bigger gap between Angle Vale B and C grades though, and it might be best for their club if they go down.
Craigmore, North East Knights and Smithfield in a 3-way battle for 2 finals spots. Craigmore have Eastern Park this week but finish with the Warriors - should collect one win at least, NEK with Central United and then Eastern Park is clearly the hardest finish to the season and may struggle to collect points, while Smithfield finish with ATCO and Central United and would be eyeing off this weekend as their best shot at snatching a finals spot. Incentive points will prove critical in the coming games.
Grade 3
The sleeping giant in North Pines has awoken and making a big play - have beaten Eyre Royals, Salis West and Enfield in recent games - all 3 have been firmly entrenched in the top 3 spots most the season. These results coupled with a match vs Central United this week places them in a very good position to finish in 3rd spot. They finish the season with Salisbury West who will be fighting for top spot still.
Enfield's season appears on life support, whilst North Pines has quietly gone about it's business, so has Parafield Gardens, who with an outright last week have snuck up within 3pts of 4th spot. This sets up exciting clashes next two rounds - Enfield plays Riverside this week, PG plays Dublin, then Enfield and Parafield Gardens meet in the last round, with the winner likely to head to finals. It'll be interesting to see how this round plays out - will either or both sides push for an outright result? If they push, could it cost them a win? What if one wins and the other loses? What if one wins outright and the other loses? An outright win also keeps alive a chance to sneak into 3rd. So much to play for.
Riverside finish the season with Central United so still a chance to avoid relegation, and with Riverside and Parafield Gardens 'A's both fighting to stay up in Grade 1, you wouldn't think they'll get any support from those sides.
Grade 4
Not much to see here, the top 4 is set, ATCO have the minor flag, hard to see Salisbury West losing second spot. The battle will be between NEK and Eyre Royals to see who finishes where, with both sides likely to prefer avoiding ATCO until the Grand Final. One Tree Hill could still play a part in shaping the make up of the top 4 though and will have a bit of pride to play for, looking to finish the season off on a positive note.
The cross over fixtures could have greater influence on the Grade 5 ladder than the Grade 4 one.
Grade 5
Much like Grade 4, the top 4 is set, Enfield have sewn up top spot and play the bottom side this round. The battle for positions between the other 3 finalists is heating up though, ATCO appear best placed to take 2nd spot being 8pts clear of Angle Vale, but the two sides clash this round and if Angle Vale can grab the points, then sets up a tough last round as ATCO have the cross over game and the Vale host Enfield.
North Pines are also in the mix, second spot not out of reach but becoming less likely as they finish the season with NEK in the cross over, but have the luxury of winless Eyre Royals in the final round - an outright result in that clash might be enough.
Interestingly, it's appearing most likely Enfield and ATCO will not meet until a possible Grand Final if they both were to make it - the sides have only played each other once this year, with Round 1 Enfield being in Grade 4 before being moved, and then their one day fixture heated out a couple weeks ago. A great unknown between these two sides, and that unknown could well work in the favour of the Hornets.
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