Maybe we
should actually talk about the game?
So what have we got awaiting us next Sunday afternoon? Well I think its fair to say you have a team in Sturt, who without doubt are the most lethal team in the league when it comes to punishing sides that don't apply themselves on the day, but who at the same time, seem to be coming up short against the two heavyweights of the league at the business end of the season. In the other corner you have the seasoned campaigner in Central, who finished in the top three without much fanfare and when on song, are very difficult to beat, they can't be physically put off their game, but they can be matched and they can sometimes not apply themselves.
For me this is truly a 50-50 game... at most I'd give the Doggies a very slight edge. The real question here is will Central come to play properly and will Sturt put in 4 quarters against quality opposition?
Last season we saw what both sides are capable of in a Qualifying Final. I thought Sturt were brilliant for three quarters as they soaked up Centrals hard-at-it game style, gave it back with interest and kicked away to a commendable lead. Unfortunately for me, the game goes another quarter and unlike most sides, Centrals had it in them to throw down the gauntlet just one more time in the hope that they'd panic Sturt out of its game style, which they did and history shows a comeback win for the Dogs. I think we'll see something similar on Sunday, one of these teams will get the upper hand and keep it.
Either Centrals will be on top early and roll on to a comfortable 4-5 goal win...
OR
Sturt will get the upper hand and unlike last year, play out four quarters and comfortably knock the Dogs over by 5-6 goals...
The key for Sturt is to keep Buckets MacKenzie under control, he can out tap us, we can rove off him, but we can't let him control the game around the ground. He might eat a lot of pies, but the man has courage by the truck load and stamina that defies the build of the man, Angus Kurtze needs to show him respect, but not give him an inch. That is a key match up. Central can stop Chambers, but they need to stop the midfield feed to the forward line. Sturt just need to stay focused and above all, reduce the number of unforced errors that Centrals will pounce on and capitalise on.
My tip for this blockbuster...
Sturt 21-30
There's some heart in that, but just have a feeling the tide needs to turn against the SANFL powerhouse sometime...
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:29 pm
