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January 10, 2008
Preview One Blue South Round NINE

The first games for 2008 delivered surprises all round, Rockingham powered their way past Osborne Park to stamp themselves as true contenders, Midland Morrison upset Byford, Safety Bay caused a boil over by beating Hilton Park, Manning scrapped home against Spearwood with Melville delivering a major surprise by beating Victoria Park.

The wins by three of the bottom sides has added some much needed interest in the competition, will they continue to deliver? All will be revealed in the coming weeks, the holiday break has served up a timely reminder not to underestimate the quality of the competition.

I for one must eat humble pie my predictions were zero from five well done to all concerned.

Melville v Safety Bay

Melville will be looking to back up their great first win for 2008 by taking on Safety Bay, the Magic travelled to Vic Park last week to record a memorable victory against the home side, the Bill Brown and Mike Cooper rinks provided the impetus for the Melville side.

Safety Bay will be on a high following their game against Hilton Park, the Bay showed they are capable of matching it with the top sides by recording a much needed victory against a strong Hilton Park side.

Melville and Safety Bay have overhauled their sides which has brought immediate success, both sides will have a lot riding on this game, a loss will make survival in 2008 that much harder; the Melville greens as usual will be in top condition for this encounter.

The result will be Melville 6 / 2.

Hilton Park v Manning

Hilton Park return home following a surprise loss to Safety Bay in the opening game of 2008, the Park will not be happy they will need to be at their best to take on the Manning Eagles, this will be game of the day.

Both sides have the talent to go further. Manning did enough against Spearwood to take out the aggregate last week, an effort like that against Hilton will not bring them any joy. Manning will need to bring something special to take this game from the home side, their key players in Milan Jokic and Peter Bowden will have to inspire their charges, Hilton rarely lose two on end especially when they are at home.

David Opie and Travis Simpson and now Brad Ball as their skippers Hilton on paper will be too strong, Manning will need to win to stay in touch with Rockingham to give themselves a chance at the top spot.

Hilton coming of a loss at home will be too much for the Eagles.

The result will be Hilton Park 6 / 2.

Rockingham v Byford

Rockingham will host a struggling Byford, the Rocky boys are in unstoppable form, Tony Tuckerman remains unbeaten with Norm Pascoe as his third it is hard to see them losing a game this season.
Rockingham travelled to Osborne Park last week and came away with seven big points, Mandurah may well have the trains now but the Rockingham side is like an express train on the way to promotion.
They have cemented their place at the top of the ladder, this game will only contribute a further eight points to their total, Byford will not trouble the ladder leaders,

The result will be Rockingham 8 / 0.

Spearwood v Osborne Park

Spearwood return home following a disappointing loss to Manning last week, Spearwood had its opportunities towards the end of that game but didn’t take its chances, Osborne Park loss to Rockingham at home didn’t do their chances any good, a win would have moved them to second place on the table.

The Park will need to make some tough decisions in the coming weeks to decide which side they will bolster, their troubled One Blue North side sits second last, will they save that side (still a possibility at this stage as the Blue North table is much tighter), or do they throw all their resources at Blue South with a slim chance of promotion.

This game for the Park will place more pressure on the selectors; most of the Park’s players will not have played at Spearwood which will not help their cause, Spearwood will be all out to gain maximum points from this game to stay in the hunt for the finals.

The result will be Spearwood 6 / 2.

Midland Morrison v Vic Park

Midland host Vic Park, Midland helped their cause last week by picking up 6½, valuable points against a struggling Byford, while Vic Park lost surprisingly against Melville.
Midland will need to continue with their winning form to ensure they do not bow out at seasons end.
For Vic Park a loss in this game would see them lose touch with the top five, last weeks efforts by both sides will count for nothing in this game, the home side will need to deliver or it will be curtains and back to second division a prospect Midland will not want to contemplate, while Vic Park has the talent to go further it will need to be seen in this game.

The result will be Vic Park 6 / 2.