Snort
Nev Cottrell (35)
Ok, prediction time.
I'm assuming, by the way, no new injuries over the weekend.
The big match-up in Round One is Waverley and Knox at Queens Park. Like every game in the round, it could go either way, but you'd have to favour the home side. Its pack is big, strong and mobile, and you'd expect the backs to play with more discipline than they (evidently) showed at Oakhill last weekend. There's no obvious weakness in the side. Knox has played well but the loss to Oakhill suggests that they can be bustled out of a game when their well-drilled structures are disrupted. Their dangerman is Tucker, at fullback, and if the forwards hold their own, he can do some damage. Even so: Waverley, in a tight one.
Barker should launch its Plume Shield challenge with a win over Cranbrook. Power in the forwards (with Slack-Smith leading from the front) and a backline orchestrated by Katoa gives Barker too much scoring potential. It's hard to see a way for Cranbrook to win: but if they defend strongly, and frustrate and spoil in the forwards, they do have the pace out wide to score on the counterattack. Cranbrook's hooker, Obaseki, won't have a better chance to stake his claim for CAS selection.
Most games are decided in the forwards. But at Summer Hill, the game might very well be won by the superior backline. Trinity is a bit weak in the tight five; but that's the visitors' weak spot, too, so it may not be a decisive difference this week. If Trinity wins enough front-foot possession, then Hannaford, Kidd, Hennessy and White could be the difference in the backs. But I expect it to be tight: there could be just the bounce of a ball in it. Expect a hard-fought game: each side thinks of this game as one it should win.
I'm assuming, by the way, no new injuries over the weekend.
The big match-up in Round One is Waverley and Knox at Queens Park. Like every game in the round, it could go either way, but you'd have to favour the home side. Its pack is big, strong and mobile, and you'd expect the backs to play with more discipline than they (evidently) showed at Oakhill last weekend. There's no obvious weakness in the side. Knox has played well but the loss to Oakhill suggests that they can be bustled out of a game when their well-drilled structures are disrupted. Their dangerman is Tucker, at fullback, and if the forwards hold their own, he can do some damage. Even so: Waverley, in a tight one.
Barker should launch its Plume Shield challenge with a win over Cranbrook. Power in the forwards (with Slack-Smith leading from the front) and a backline orchestrated by Katoa gives Barker too much scoring potential. It's hard to see a way for Cranbrook to win: but if they defend strongly, and frustrate and spoil in the forwards, they do have the pace out wide to score on the counterattack. Cranbrook's hooker, Obaseki, won't have a better chance to stake his claim for CAS selection.
Most games are decided in the forwards. But at Summer Hill, the game might very well be won by the superior backline. Trinity is a bit weak in the tight five; but that's the visitors' weak spot, too, so it may not be a decisive difference this week. If Trinity wins enough front-foot possession, then Hannaford, Kidd, Hennessy and White could be the difference in the backs. But I expect it to be tight: there could be just the bounce of a ball in it. Expect a hard-fought game: each side thinks of this game as one it should win.
which will really throw a spanner in the works.
