Well its been a while, but the GooseStep is back and we are looking at the Senior Preliminary Finals today, and a bit later on will have a crack at all the Junior Grand Finals tomorrow.. With all the talk around Men’s Premiership, I thought to get onto the lower grades….
Anyway lets get stuck into it, starting with the Women’s League Tag…
Westpac Women’s League Tag – 11:30am
South Perth Lions vs Ellenbrook Rabbitohs
The undefeated North Beach Sea Eagles await the winner of this one, and for most people it seems to be South Perth’s to lose. The natural rival to the Sea Eagles, the Lions have only lost games to their fierce rivals. With a monster for and against, the Sea Eagles and the Lions were the only sides with a positive for and against, with the rest of the competition in the minus category. So the question remains, can Ellenbrook go with them?
The Lions are an up tempo, fast and furious type side. with speed to burn,. They have key senior figures who steer the team around, and the ladies just do their jobs around them. Class acts like Grace Smith, Michaela Turner-Wallace, Zarah Suamili and Beth Norton have great vision and superb skills, and are at the top of their game. Although missing the red flash in Brooke Carroll, they still boast speedsters in Teana Jenkins, Imogen Howes and Rhythm Brinkworth. With a great combination of experience from Amanda McGuire, Claudia Wood and Claire Smith, they are a well drilled side, with coach Sean Terrell basically a savant for the league tag competition.
But the Ellenbrook crew are an interesting assignment. A tough matchup, they are a physical and frustrating team to play. Defensively sound, they play with swagger and a chip on their shoulder which the traditional league tag sometimes have problems getting into a groove against. And they’ve got some ballers of their own. Speedster Kalissa Moon has shown she can hot foot it with most, while Bobbie-Lee Barker continues to show she is no spent force in any style of game. And while the Grey sisters continue to impose themselves on sides, the key here is with their coach/player in Sam Treherne. Treherne has speed, skill and an unorthodox kicking game that is impossible to predict. Containing her is sometimes impossible and sometimes you just need to stem the tide.
Big Matchup – Grace Smith vs Sam Treherne
Conclusion
All the points seem to stack up in the Lions favour in this one, and they also seem the most likely to take the game to North Beach next weekend. But Ellenbrook are a nightmare matchup for their fast, smooth gameplay. They will need to make sure they keep their heads on and just play footy against the tricky Rabbitohs, or they will be another casualty.
FTG&P Third Grade – 12:40pm
South Perth Lions vs North Beach Sea Eagles
Well its a dominant Willagee Bears that await the winner of this one, after they completely dominated the Lions last week in the major, while the Sea Eagles beat their northern rivals, Joondalup in extra time last week. You’d say goal kicking played a huge part in that, but the Sea Eagles are a plucky team who seem to find a way, after it looked like they may even miss the finals a few weeks back.
South Perth in third grade are a funny side. Barely scraping together a side early, they couldn’t even get on the field at the start of the year. But boy how that has changed. A rampaging side in the middle of the season, they are impressive to watch when in swing. Arguable the best forward pack in the competition, Casey Jones at prop leads a good mix of experience and youth. With Armstong Maliko at hooker, the back row of James, Buko and Potane are class in this grade. They can beat you with power or finesse in the middle, and while they don’t have any out and out try scorers, Blair Hickman, Ivara and Afoa can find the line, and the addition of Cavanna late can only make them more dangerous. But their edges have alot to answer for after a poor showing last week.
For the Sea Eagles, it was never say die last week, and they are “playing with house money” now. A big underdog for the teams who are left, they matchup with South Perth pretty well for a couple of reasons. Their forward pack is strong, with ex first graders in Whaanga and Adams in the lineup, while the evergreen Easter and Donaldson tightening up their defensive line. They will look to hold their middle, and strike out wide, with class operators in Hoff and Taita-Abels. Whether its as a setup or a try scoring centre, they seem the players most like to crack open the opposition. Throw in the impressive TeReti McLeod at 7, and the Sea Eagles are here to play.
Big Matchup – Casey Jones vs Terelli Whaanga
Conclusion
Could be the game of the day, with both sides fancying themselves a big chance of being able to knock off the Bears in the grand final. It will be won on the edges, with both packs seemingly able to handle each other. Watch for the last 10 minutes, where this game will be won. Can South Perth stick to the game plan? Will North Beach be able to go up yet another level?
FTG&P Val Murphy Trophy – 2pm
Willagee Bears vs South Perth Lions
A massive boil over last week, with the Bears being ambushed by a hungry and ruthless Sea Eagles side, who were set on getting into the grand final early. The Lions on the other hand grinded and grinded until they were too much for a brave Giants team. An interesting contest here, with some big names lining up for this one.
The Bears have named an imposing lineup for this one, with their Premiership team welcoming back some big names. A supremely talented side, they are brash, tough and unafraid to let the ball do the talking. Not lacking in flair, their spine alone would not look out of place in first grade. Ex NRL player in Brent Crisp is joined in the spine by 2025 Premiership winners in Teirney, Bannister and young guns Huriwai-Brown and Pieters. Huriwai-Brown is the highest scorer in this grade and has shown huge ability as a running ball player, while Pieters is the modern day Damien Cook, exploding out of dummy half with acceleration rarely seen. With try scorers Packer, Raukatau-Wiperi and Smith in the lineup, it really is an exciting and devastating team to watch. Can they limit their errors and manage their risk vs reward?
For the red and white Lions, they won’t be worrying too much about what the Bears can do. They have got some aces themselves. With Travis Haney in the lineup, they have a genuine match winner, who will always pose a threat on the ball. The Tumoana brothers, who not so long ago were in first grade themselves, are also there, with the dangerous Cullen and dependable Keating. But its their devastating pack that will cause the difference. Cameron-Ramea, Young, Roshan, Lis, Petit is a first grade pack, with Matthews and Fariu as bench middles, shows just how deep the Lions are this season. Watch for the battle on the edges here, to see if Lions can contain the Bears high octane offence.
Big Matchup – Kingston Tioriori vs Kieren Lis
Conclusion
Another monster game, with two Premiership lineups. It’ll be who holds their nerve better. Mistakes and completions will be important as both teams have the artillery to hurt you if you give them the chance. Leadership and youthful exuberance will need to be managed carefully by coaches Smith and Lewis in this one.
Westpac Women’s Premiership – 3:30pm
Joondalup Giants vs Willagee Bears
Once again its the Ellenbrook Rabbitohs who are first into the Grand Final, with a throwback performance from Turner and Thompsons, which sent the Giants into this match against a dangerous Bears side. The Bears got over their first half hiccups last week to blow past the Fremantle Roosters in the second half and setup this mouthwatering clash.
The Giants were a bit shorthanded last week, but that’s no excuse as they were thoroughly outclassed by a hungry Rabbitohs team. The only side to beat Ellenbrook this year, the Giants actually had so low numbers early, they were in danger of pulling out of the competition. But slowly the ladies came back, and the talent trickled in. The graduation of some amazing juniors in Beazley, Ama and Fuimaono have shown the growth, while the power games from Amiria and Chanelle Edwards shows they still have plenty to give. And there are massive ins this week compared to last week, with Loundes, Parekura-Schirnack, Matiu and Antonievic-Bunce all coming in. But the key is obviously in the halves. Stephens is an icon in WA, and she teams up with “Rax” Pitman-Anderson who has an impressive resume herself. It is class central.
The Bears will not be cowed though. And they have some massive ins themselves, with their back 5 getting noticeable better with Hodgson and Liddy joining speedsters Yusia, McNally and Apii in a devastating back 5. They showed last week, they could score from anywhere and they have only gotten stronger in that department, and their halves are no slouches themselves with Tanonef and Suamili more than capable. But everyone would agree the keys to the Bears are with their co-captains. The pillars of their game, Kelemete and players player contender Burt-Poloai are rocks and can defend and attack with aplomb and all game. Mike has this team quietly playing their best football of the year now, so they will be primed and ready.
Big Matchup – Chanelle Edwards vs Caitlan Burt-Poloai
Conclusion
Its hard to go past the impressive names on the list of the Giants, but the are cracks in the armour, and the Rabbitohs have showed the Bears the formula for playing this one. Have the Giants learnt from last weeks game? The Bears cannot afford to start slow in this one either, because chasing the Giants is game suicide.
Well thats it! Goosestep for the lower grades is done!
I hope to see you all down there today at George Burnett Park, Karawara for a great day of rugby league!