#SIRU2016 Round Four Preview:
Another strong showing from Waratahs last week against the defending Premiers and probably not a scoreline that many would have tipped. With Leeton just pegging Griffith on the bell, I reckon the Ag v Griffith match will be a doozy particularly with Aggies coming off a win against City. Although the scoreline played into Tumut’s favour, there were positives in the match for CSU last week also.
Leeton (3) v Albury (6)
Leeton are still looking to hit their straps this season and after getting out of jail last week on the bell, I wonder what they are going to bring to the table this week. Will this be the start of some more polished performances for the Phantoms?
The Steamers are smarting from last week’s drubbing from the Tahs but will take stock from their effort during the game. Hopefully they can secure some more possession for their backs to use this week. Sources on the border have confirmed that James Olds has a ticket to QLD booked which could seriously derail their backline but I’m also hearing good things from the likes of Devlin, Allen and Ryan as young up and comers.
Ag College (5) v Griffith (4) – Match of the Round
This match should be a strong test for both these teams as they progress through the season; neither have set the world on fire so far and will want to put in a good showing this week.
Ag College are without Riley Brennan for two weeks (lucky this wasn’t more IMO) which will cause a backline reshuffle and will also be missing Dirk Diggler’s cousin as well at break away. Tom Macleay has been leading the team well lately and is now one of the older heads in the team – his efforts will set the tone for the team tomorrow.
Griffith have some things to work on but are trending upwards in most areas of the game despite a loss to Leeton last week. Their forwards are working well and providing more structure to their game will help the team settle and allow them to attack from a solid base. Vaea Mateo at halfback has been directing the Griffith pack well in recent weeks also.
Hamish Pennington is maturing as a footballer at Ag College which has seen him fine-tune his kicking game somewhat this season and is having a positive impact for his team. He will need to assess the game well tomorrow to allow the younger and smaller Ag College team to take full advantage of their strengths.
Only points differential separates these teams on the ladder and I think this game will be important for them both later in the season which suggests to me that they need to take maximum points from this game. This will be a pretty even contest, both teams are sitting mid-table for a reason; hopefully they can put a strong case for advancement forward tomorrow.
Tumut (2) v City (8)
A tough first few rounds won’t get any easier for City this week as they head to the hills to take on the in form Tumut Bulls. There’s no doubt that they need to start firing although I can sympathise with a tough draw first up.
The Bulls were made to work for their win against CSU last week and made some good headway through the middle of the field through the likes of Menzies Seumanutafa who was a damaging runner and strong defender.
Dan Dowson will be keen to work on some of the finer points of the Bulls game this week, they will probably find the City scrum will be more competitive than CSU were last week which could slow down some of their starter plays.
Waratahs (1) v CSU (7)
Waratahs are proving hard to stop this year, particularly through the centre of the field. From what I have seen of them, the penetration gained by Le Leivre is the starting point, followed by a strong clean out then speed of service from Hobbs to Bonner is very quick and wide which allows them options to attack against a back-pedaling and disorganised defensive line.
Reddies had their chances against Tumut last week but probably could have made some better use of their speed out wide. Dean Smart played well in the forwards as did Sam Sutton and Justin Wakeling had a handy game at halfback. The match up of Angus Le Lievre and Brent Merritt in the centres will be a key part of this game. If Merrit can stop Le Lievre, it will be interesting to see what effect this has on Waratahs ability to break/bend the defensive line.
