Men – Apollo v Millicent United
Apollo are set to host Millicent United this Saturday as both sides are in need of a win to kick start their Barry Maney Premier League seasons.
Apollo and Millicent have not had a great start to the season as they are the last two teams to register a win.
Millicent had a rough start with a big loss to Centrals. However they showed a lot of promise last week in their 4-3 clash with Naracoorte.
Apollo looked solid in round one in their clash with Blue Lake but have struggled after that, going goalless against Centrals and Inter.
This will be a must win match for both sides if they want any chance of making the finals as another loss this early in the season will make that task more difficult.
Apollo will be looking to Tobbei Kennett and Austin Fatchen for another solid game as they were standouts in their loss against Centrals.
Given it’s a home game I think Apollo will notch up their first win.
Blue Lake v Naracoorte United
Blue Lake will host Naracoorte United this Sunday at Malseed Park.
Naracoorte are coming off a great win last week – their first in a while.
Blue Lake are coming off the bye this weekend and have started their season well with wins in the first two rounds.
However, Naracoorte will have a tough task ahead of them as Blue Lake looked the goods against Portland and Apollo.
Blue Lake’s Shar Nay Than and Gay Nay Say Ler have gotten off to a great start this season and have been the Rangers’ main goal scorers.
Therefore they will be two players Naracoorte will need to shut down if they want to come away with a win.
Naracoorte’s Mujtaba Hussaini will look to have another solid performance after an important two goals last week.
Despite their solid win last week I think Blue Lake will just be too good at home in this one with the Rangers coming away with the three points.
Gambier Centrals v Portland Panthers
Gambier Centrals and the Portland Panthers will go head to head this Sunday at MGA Park as Centrals look to continue their winning streak.
Centrals have been electric to start the season with great wins in all three of their games.
Portland, on the other hand, started their season well with a round one win but have struggled after that with back to back losses.
Centrals have been the top side so far this season and have not looked like losing yet, while Portland looked solid against Blue Lake in round two but struggled in the second half against Inter.
They will need to clean that up against Centrals as they have shown they can put plenty of goals on the board in a similar fashion to Inter.
The match up between Portland’s Troy Jensen and Centrals’ Sam Shoemark will be a must watch this week. Both have been great this season with Shoemark the top goal scorer so far this season.
I think Centrals just look too good for Portland and will come out on top.
Women – Apollo v Millicent United
Apollo are set to take on the struggling Millicent United on Saturday at their home deck at Webb Street.
This will be the first meeting for these sides since last year’s grand final with both teams in very different form.
Millicent have looked like a very different side to last year as they have struggled early on and are yet to score a goal or win a game.
After a shaky draw to start the season Apollo have looked solid over their past two games with back to back wins.
This will be a must win for Millicent and a very tough challenge as they will not want to start the season zero and three.
After Apollo’s win last round they moved into top spot on the ladder, and a win this week will help cement that position, with plenty of teams already hunting for that spot this season.
Millicent are going to have a tough task stopping Apollo across the board as they have several players who can hit the scoreboard including Zoe Brooksby, Rebekah Lamb and Toni Ingley-Smith – which puts a lot of pressure on Millicent’s defence.
I think Apollo will be two overpowering for Millicent in this one and with them playing at home they should come away with the three points.
Blue Lake v Naracoorte United
Blue Lake will look to secure their first win of the season this Saturday as they take on the travelling Naracoorte United who are fresh off a big win last week.
Naracoorte had the biggest win of the round last week, defeating Millicent 7-0.
Blue Lake, on the other hand, are fresh off the bye and looking for their first win after having back to back draws to start the year.
Unlike Naracoorte last week, Blue Lake have struggled to score goals so far this season, going goalless in round one and only scoring one against Portland in their last match.
Meanwhile, Naracoorte have been the highest scoring side so far, scoring 12 goals in only two games.
Naracoorte United coach Chandler Smart said this match will be tough due to it being played on Saturday with several players unavailable due to other sporting commitments.
“It’s going to be a very, very different team and a very different week,” he said.
“So we know it’s going to be a struggle but we will put our best team forward and hope everyone is still up for the challenge.
“We’re not expecting anything miraculous but we will still want to be out there and compete.”
Given these two contrasting teams going head to head it should be a very interesting match that I would not be surprised if it did end in a draw.
Gambier Centrals v Portland Panthers
Gambier Centrals will host Portland this Saturday at MGA Park as Centrals look to bounce back from a tough loss.
After a hot start to the season Centrals were dealt their first loss of the season on Friday night while Portland have struggled to close out games as the side looks for their first win, despite drawing in their games thus far.
This should be a great game as both sides look to get back on track and secure a win.
A player to watch for Centrals in this match will be Jasmine Siemon who has been one of the top players in the side and will certainly cause problems for Portland.
Panthers’ Imogen Pratt will also be looking to have a big game as she has been reliable so far for Portland with her ability to hit the scoreboard.
This should be a very tight contest on Saturday but I think Centrals will edge out the win – but I would not be surprised if it did end in a draw.
