#SIRU2017 Round Twelve Preview:
It’s hard to tip a MOTR this week, for me, it’s either Ag/City or Tumut/Albury as the MOTR or are they as important as each other as both matches will have impacts on the final positions of all four of these clubs. Any slip ups by either City or Tumut at this stage of the season could be costly for them.
Leeton (1) v Griffith (8)
Will we see a similar match to the one that we saw in the first half of the competition? I know I keep saying it, but the Blacks showed so much promise in that game and they just haven’t gone on with it. Can they step up against the Phantoms here?
Leeton rotated some key players last week agains the Reddies and I can see the logic in doing so. Get some running into the legs of some key players and work on some combinations in others. Will they take the same approach into this game?
Waratahs (2) v CSU (7)
Reddies never laid down against Leeton last week and need to string together another committed performance this weekend. The Reddies have improved their scrum this season and are beginning to gel a bit more as a team in the later stages of the competition.
Waratahs seem to be a bit wobbly at the moment and will be keen to see some familiar faces back in the starting lineup after their bible study safaris are now over. It’s time for these guys to knuckle down if they’re going to be serious contenders for the finals.
Ag College (6) v City (3)
Aggies sponsor this weekend will be “abacus r us”, Coach Mitchell will have been working his into the ground this week and from all reports, Aggies are a mathematical chance of making the finals in 2017. Will it happen though? No idea, but a win this weekend will surely be a positive.
Wagga City appear to be hitting their straps at the right time of the season and I’d be confident that this has a lot to do with the return of Tumut’s very own James Curgenven. The team will have been rocked this week by a judiciary suspension but more importantly, Stu Dyer out with a gammy knee will be a blow. City did play without Dyer in the GF last year (maybe even the week prior also?), so they do have some depth in this position and they are in the positive position of having a more experienced team than in previous years.
It’ll be interesting to see how the forwards battle plays out in this game as the City men really pride themselves on their set piece and Aggies are happy to hold their own while they play a more expansive game.
Tumut (4) v Albury (5)
The Bulls will no doubt be out to show the competition that they can best the Steamers here as we head into the final rounds of the competition. A bonus point loss earlier in the year was all they could muster at Murrayfield and a repeat of that result will hurt the Bulls. (The Steamers could actually end up on the same competition points as the Bulls with a Bonus Point Win here but would need to deny the Bulls any Bonus Points in doing so).
A key match up in this game will be Josef Glamuzina vs James Devlin at fullback as both these players can really split a team apart. Glamuzina has been a revelation for the Bulls along with Friswell at 5/8, they seem to have covered the loss of Tino Manualevo pretty well actually.
This game will be decided by the work rate of the forwards for me. Both teams have got some handy operators through their backlines and it’s going to be important for their forward packs to set a strong platform for them to play from. Cold conditions won’t worry either team tomorrow and while the traditional 10 man style is probably comfortable for these teams, they both need to score maximum points in this game.
Sorry for the brief preview folks, still not enough hours in the week!
