Div 3 Round 14 (last of the reg season!) Predictions
Merrylands (1) at Knox (4): Merrylands by 12.
Old Barker (8) at Sydney Harbour (3): Harbour by 10.
Sydney Irish (2) at Hawkesbury Valley (5): Irish by 20.
Lane Cove Old Ignations (7) at Sydney Harlequinns (6): LCOI by 5.
2/4, closing the regular season in tatters.
Knox 46 def. Merrylands 20: Well, there's an upset. By the team sheets it looks like Merrylands travelled a little light this week with some key players absent, and a somewhat soft red card relatively early into the second half definitely didn't help proceedings, but that's a big momentum building win for the Knox lads at home to secure the club championship. Set piece dominance in the second half was the difference. 4 tries for the superstar Filipo at #8 for Knox, player of the season in divison 3 for sure. No changes for finals however, Knox stays in the minor, Merrylands in the major, these two could meet again soon.
Sydney Harbour 38 def. Barker 24: The end of a very tough season for the Barker lads, will be interesting to see how they stack up next year. They'll need to prioritise returning a colts outfit, the life blood of a club like theirs. For Harbour, it's a solid albeit underwhelming win against the cellar dwellars. Still without Lorang and Garrels (not sure what the diagnosis is there), they'll have to lift it up a notch next week against Knox or they'll face the prospect of their first title-less season since entering suburban rugby.
Sydney Irish 18 def. Hawkesbury Valley 14: Close one! Valley turned out for their Ladies Day schmick in their pink jerseys and gave the league leading Irish a real crack. Irish got the bus out to McQuade and they'd be happy they did because they needed everything to get this one over the line. Irish vs Merrylands will be interesting next week with both teams showing cracks. For Valley, they finish 5th in the Clark, and will go for the title in 2nd grade and Colts, a handy season all things considered. They'll aim for more consistency in the top flight next year.
Sydney Harlequins 33 def. LCOI 12: Well so much for the upset. Quins round out their season at home in a big day for the club, with some fresh legs off the back of last week's full grades forfeit vs Merrylands. A disappointing year as many had them tipped for finals. For LCOI, they'll rue a slow start to their first season post merger but there are some signs of potential there, starting with their colts outfit in the major semi next week.
Semi final previews to come.
Yours in the business end of the season,
PFE.