TNTMarv
Years ago
NBL1 Central: Men's Round 14 Previews
Last Time they Played: May 8
Sturt 96 d Forestville 91
Southern 89 d Norwood 82
West 110 d Eastern 69
South 90 d Woodville 86
Centrals 98 d North 94
Forestville at Sturt (Springbank)
Forestville pushed the undefeated Sabres all the way til the end in Round 6 and would be confident of their ability to get the win this time around. Both teams were missing bigs last Saturday, something which affects the Sabres a lot more given their lack of size than it does the Eagles. Malith Machar stepped into the hole left by Brine with a POTW performance of 30 points & 21 rebounds against the struggling Warriors.
The Sabres stength is in their backcourt, where the Eagles are at their weakest. The Eagles need to limit the scoring opportunities of Spear and Daly while closing down the penetration of Rasmussen.
I'm tipping the Eagles to reverse the previous result and sneaking past the Sabres.
Southern at Norwood (The Arc)
Hoping the plumbing is all fixed up and we're good to go at the Arc this week. The Flames have fallen in line behind the leadership of Turnage and the now deep supporting cast are finding their roles. As the Flames are coming together the Tigers are sliding back into the pack. A strength of the Tigers run was their shooting and their accuracy has left them in the past few losses. Uncertatin on the staus of Coleman at this point which would put a lot of pressure on McCalop to get it done inside while sharp shooters Wurm, Machar and Artacho need to be on target for the Tigers to light up. Meanwhile Turnage is in Wollocott form averaging 25, 8 & 4 and will be looking to push the Flames into the 5 by getting the win against his old Club. Green v McCalop will be an interesting contest of athletic bigs but without Coleman (assuming he's out) it will be interesting to see if the Tigers can compete with Lycett, Webber and Co.
Given current form I'm predicting Norwood to get a close win over Southern.
West Adelaide @ Eastern (St Francis)
Both teams will come into this game with some confidence after much improved performances last round. The Bearcats kept their turnovers down to run over the top of the fading Panthers, while the youth of the Mavs gave them the energy to compete with the Flames despite the loss. Will Wise will have to do a lot of work inside again against the big bodies of Earnest Ross and Bryan Michaels and keep Lachlan Hunter off the boards. Fabian Johnson is coming off his best game of 2021 and the backcourt will again have to get the job done against the young Mavs guards. Given the turnover of players at Eastern its hard to gauge who will be the focus from their point of view last week Isaac Warhust and Owen Raneberg took their starting opportunities and it will be interesting to see if Coach Rojo will have faith in the kids again this week.
Bearcats should secure a win here, but it won't be as easy as last time they met.
Woodville @ South Adelaide (The Shed)
Both teams coming off disappointing losses, not just losing but the lack of form shown. Last time around the Panthers went in undermanned and Starling carried the side to the win with a 37point, 20 rebound, 7 steals MVP style performance. No Starling this week and potentially no Julian Jacobs gives this game a much different look to the Round 6 contest. Also different is the addition of Owen Hulland & Alex Mudronja (against his old club) but also back from injury Sam Johns & Codey Ellison. Recent form of the Woodville starters needs to change quickly for them to compete. The Panthers would be hoping to bring the energy of the Southern game rather than the West/Forestville games.
While inconsistent to date South should get the win against the struggling Woodville.
North Adelaide @ Central Districts (Starplex)
A close contest last time around, the Rockets coming away disappointed to lose against an under rated Lions side. The addition of Jack McVeigh completely changes the look of the Rockets but equally they've loss the services of Jack Purchase & Manel Ayol since Round 6. Hoping Dech is back on court this week as no news on injuries is generally good news, which will help the Rockets try and shut down the impact of one of the Lions leading scorers Lual Diing (19ppg) or David Humphries (17ppg). Both sides rely a lot on their small core, with foul trouble or injury potentially a factor on the outcome.
My heart says the Lions but my head says the Rockets. Going with my head and tipping North to win in a tight one.