After an intriguing round one in the South West Football League with a few unexpected blowouts and surprising results, we now look to round two to provide a better insight as to how teams will perform throughout 2014.
Carey Park will be disappointed with how their season began after going down to South Bunbury by 14 points in the first round and will look to make a difference in their Anzac Day clash against a confident Donnybrook outfit this Friday.
Eaton picked up a strong win against Collie last week and will want to collect another against Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault while Augusta-Margaret River will want to avoid being 0-2 as they face off with a hot-to-trot Bunbury Bulldogs side.
Collie will look for their first win in a match against Busselton while the Harvey Bulls will be searching for a home victory over South Bunbury.
This Anzac Day clash could come right down to the wire with both teams excelling in areas that the other does not.
Donnybrook’s confidence will be sky high after their 47 point round one victory over the Hawks while Carey Park will want to avoid a 0-2 start after letting one slip to South Bunbury.
The matchups will be interesting around the ground with Carey Park looking to have the upper hand when it comes to small runners, but Donnybrook taking the cake in the tall players department.
Jeff Smith was strong in the Dons’ win last week but it was Curtis Guglielmana who stole the show playing up forward and bagging five goals.
Hayden King and Jaymin O’dine-Kahn were also productive.
For Carey Park, Brayden Lawler and Scott Roche were impressive along with Tom Collins and Chris Rintoul.
Carey Park also addressed a week spot on their roster when they included Claremont premiership ruckman Mitchell Andrews who performed well last week.
On sheer talent, Carey Park certainly has the win.
But Donnybrook has shown that a positive attitude and playing hard and focused football can keep you contesting with anyone.
This one should be a great game, but Carey Park will be out to bounce back hard.
A 0-2 start is something Coach John Baggetta and his Panthers won’t want to be having to deal with.
Prediction: Carey Park by 7 points.
These are two teams in completely different places at the moment.
Eaton dominated Collie last week in a 69 point victory while the young Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault was dealt a 112 point punishment by Bunbury.
It’s hard to see HBL getting close to the Boomers in this one.
Eaton has the most talented list in the competition and will have the upper hand in nearly every matchup around the ground in this game.
HBL is struggling to find a competitive ruckman at the moment and with both Lachlan Rankin and Nicholas Martin performing admirably for the Boomers last week that could be a very one sided battle.
Eaton is also the most fluent side when it comes to moving the ball around the ground.
There precision by foot is something that all teams should strive for and rarely do you see a bad decision made by a Boomer.
They also boast midfield that brings a lot of intensity to the stoppages.
HBL has a good stack of young players, who give a good effort every time they step on the ground, but young players thrive off confidence and it’s hard to imagine HBL having any after their round one match.
However it could be a good learning curve for the youthful Lions who should be able to take a lot out of seeing how the Boomers play their football.
Prediction: Eaton by 110 points.
After their dominant performance last week the Bunbury Bulldogs now sit atop the SWFL ladder and rightfully so.
Bunbury was absolutely clinical in their win over HBL with their key players having big games.
Aidan Parker made a terrific debut for the Bulldogs with six goals while Marc Re put up a best on ground performance up forward with nine goals of his own.
Augusta-Margaret River on the other hand couldn’t fire a shot against an inspired Donnybrook team.
AMR showed that they are going to struggle this year without key players and goal scorers as they allowed Donnybrook to pick them apart.
This could be another blowout as Bunbury will have the advantage in nearly every position around the ground.
One Bulldog who will certainly be loving the inclusion of Parker will be Jordan Adamson-Holmes.
Parker’s inclusion to the Bulldogs means Adamson-Holmes will receive a lot less focus from opposition teams allowing him to play up the ground and become much more dangerous.
If Adamson-Holmes is to play in the midfield with Jesse Gribble and Brad Blake this week things could get ugly for the Hawks.
Jack Hick and Richard Devitt were strong for AMR last week along with recruit Hamish Shepheard, but it will take a lot more than a few strong individual performances to help the Hawks this week.
Prediction: Bunbury Bulldogs by 72 points.
This is another game that could prove to be a close one.
Collie was beaten badly by Eaton last week but in the quarters that Collie had the wind they competed strongly.
Christian Pocklington was good in the ruck and contested well in the packs while Matt Blackford, Matt Michael and Corey Griggs were all good around the ground.
Tony Mirabella also looked deadly moving well around the forward line.
Busselton on the other hand are coming off a strong win against Harvey in which a big opening quarter helped set the tone for the remainder of the game.
After that however the Magpies slowed down considerably with Harvey matching them in the remaining three quarters.
If Busselton do allow Collie the same chance they allowed Harvey you can guarantee that the Eagles will punish them.
Collie moved the ball with skill along the wings and worked out of contests well against the Boomers but putting a score on the board became a difficult task.
Against Busselton however, Collie may not find scoring so hard.
If Alex Tweedie and Mirabella can kick goals and make Collie’s forward line more dangerous, the Eagles can definitely bounce back from round one.
Busselton boast a skilled and strong midfield but Collie are definitely more talented along the half back and half forward lines.
This should be a ripping match.
Prediction: Collie by 13 points.
Harvey won’t be happy with how their round one bout with Busselton turned out last week and will want to show they aren’t the same team that earned the 2013 wooden spoon.
South Bunbury on the other hand weren’t too impressive in their win over Carey Park and could be a little vulnerable heading into this match.
One interesting battle in this match will be Harvey’s backline coming up against South Bunbury’s forward line.
Chris Andrew is a great tall forward for South Bunbury but Harvey’s Brett Lofthouse is one of the best backmen in the competition.
Ryan Court also proved last week against the Magpies that he can hold his own and it will be interesting to see if he or Matt Robson goes to South Bunbury’s Guy Piggott.
Piggott collected three majors in his sides win over Carey Park and will look to continue his good form.
On the other end of the ground Greg Sanders is capable of kicking a bag while youngster Glen Wallam showed last week that he could be the opportunistic forward pocket that the Bulls have been missing.
In the midfield battle South Bunbury certainly have more skill but Harvey’s midfielders all maintain the ability to play run with roles while bouncing off the stoppages to attack as well.
This should be an interesting matchup but South Bunbury should have the skills to outdo the Bulls.
Prediction: South Bunbury by 22 points.
