North Adelaide Rockets (3-4, 6th) v Southern Tigers (2-5, 9th)

The North Adelaide Rockets will be hoping for a fourth consecutive victory when they take on the Southern Tigers at Hillcrest on Saturday.

This game will tip-off at 6.30, with the women given the 8.15 timeslot.

The Rockets are sitting just percentage out of the five, after recovering from 0-4 start.

In its last match, North got off to a fast start, leading 26-17 at quarter-time, before holding off Centrals to win 74-68.

Despite shooting just 39% from the field, 42% from the foul-line, and being outrebounded 49-40, the Rockets got home, largely thanks to a plus-21 edge in three-point shooting.

Matthew Lycett had a great game with 16 point and 12 boards, while Rhys Carter had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 10 assists.

In contrast to the Rockets’ strong early output, the Tigers were outscored 14-22 in the first quarter of their last match, before going down to West Adelaide 70-82.

Southern was outrebounded 47-33, and connected on just half of its 28 free throw attempts.

Marcus Robinson and Michael Florance combined for 36 points, while Codey Ellison had 8 points and 9 boards.

Despite the team’s up and down form, the Tigers sit just one win out of fourth spot.

Wins against South and Woodville, who North lost to, have shown that Southern at its best is a solid side.

However, after losing its past three matches, a Southern win here would be against all odds, so I expect the Rockets to make it four on the trot.    

Sturt Sabres (3-4, 7th) v West Adelaide Bearcats (6-1, 2nd)

This week’s Match of the Round clash is between Sturt and West at Pasadena on Saturday (6.30 tip-off).

It is the first time the two sides have met since the 2010 CABL Grand Final, with the Sabres winning in feisty style, 91-82.

However, the Bearcats will go in full of confidence, with their opponents struggling for consistency over the first seven rounds.

In the absence of Jacob Holmes, Darren Ng and Tom Daly both lifted, with each scoring a season-high 33 points.

However, Sturt could not get the job done defensively, going down 102-99.

In their previous match, the Sabres thrashed Woodville.

Before that it, they lost to North, one night after a big win over third-placed Forestville.

In contrast, other than a hiccup against an undermanned Warriors side, West has been getting the job done, with six wins from its opening seven matches.

The Bearcats’ most recent scalp was against the Tigers at Morphett Vale, whom they defeated 82-70, behind 27 points from David Nurse and 26 from Jeff Dowdell.

Nurse’s scoring barrage included 6 treys, while he also had 10 boards.

Neither Nurse nor Dowdell have faced the Sabres before, after only signing for the ’Cats this season.

There will certainly be no love lost between the two sides on Saturday.

If Holmes is back in the line-up, then do not be surprised if a few West boys get stuck into him, especially Point Guard Anthony Spadavecchia.

Holmes and Spadavecchia had a heated battle the last time they met, with both picking up unsportsmanlike fouls.

The Bearcats felt Sturt had the rub of the green in that match, and will be more than motivated to make amends this time around.

Going by Sturt’s form, this should be an up week, but the Bearcats will provide a formidable opposition.

If Holmes is back, then I reckon Sturt might just get up, but if not, I think West will get the W.

Eastern Mavericks (3-4, 7th) v Woodville Warriors (3-4, 8th)

The stakes will be high when the Warriors travel east to take on the Mavericks on Saturday, with each team sitting 3-4 after seven matches.

Both sides are coming off Round 7 losses.

Eastern continued its good form against the league’s top tier, putting in its best display in weeks against Forestville, before just falling 100-96.

The Mavericks have now lost to the top three sides by a combined total of just 13 points.

The loss to the Eagles came in spite of Ben Madgen’s season-high 33 points on 75% shooting, and 26 points and 7 assists from Aaron Bruce.

Woodville was level at half-time against Norwood, but the third quarter proved fatal, where it was outscored 23-15.

The Warriors eventually went down 77-67, after shooting just 53.8% from the foul-line, and being outrebounded 40-28.

New import Colin Matteson got off to a good start with 19 points, while Josh Knight had 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Both teams have experienced highs and lows this season, winning games they were not expected to win, and losing games they should win.

Eastern’s three-pronged attack of Madgen, Bruce and Brad Hill has had mixed success, but I do not think Woodville can shut all three down for four quarters.

Thus, I believe the Mavs will score a vital win.

Norwood Flames (6-1, 1st) v South Adelaide Panthers (3-4, 5th)

The Panthers scored a big scalp last week when they knocked off the Sabres, and will be looking for another when they travel to Mars to face top-side Norwood on Saturday.

Daniel Johnson (28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and Mitch Creek (27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) were again sensational against Sturt, but this time had some help, with Thomas McKenzie, Matthew Davies and Shane Boal combining for 37 points and 19 rebounds.

South’s 102-99 victory broke a run of four successive losses.

The Flames recovered from their loss to Forestville with a 77-67 road win over the Warriors.

David Cooper was enormous with 24 points, 18 boards and 4 assists, while Andrew Webber had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals, and Ben Howell scored 19 with 3 steals.

Regardless of what help they get, Creek and Johnson will again need to be in stellar touch.

In their five matches together, both have scored at least 20 in the same game on three occasions, and at least one has scored 20 in all five.

Norwood was a bit out of touch in the first half last week, which was somewhat understandable considering the absence of star Point Guard Todd Matthews.

Matthews has career averages of 15.9 ppg, 7 rpg and 5.2 apg.

If Matthews is in the line-up, then the Panthers will need to keep him in check, along with Webber, who is averaging 16.3 ppg.

If Matthews is in the line-up, then Norwood should win, but if he is absent again, then I think South might get up.

Central District Lions (1-6, 10th) v Forestville Eagles (5-2, 3rd)

Forestville will go in search of a third straight victory when it travels north to face Centrals on Saturday.

The Eagles have shown poise down the stretch in the past two matches, winning games that they could have easily let slip.

In Round 7, Forestville scored a thrilling 100-96 victory over Eastern, Rashad Tucker leading the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

The previous week, Brad Sullivan went off for 26 points, including the game-winning trey, as the Eagles overcame the Flames 90-89.

Forestville has done a good job of adapting its game-style based on its opponent.

Against the smaller teams, the Eagles have played more of a half-court, inside game, while against the big teams, they have looked to run the ball at all costs.

Centrals, on the other hand, were on the wrong end of another close loss, going down to North 74-68.

Josh Kollasch had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, while Daniel Carlin had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

The Lions shot just 36% from the field.

Centrals can move off the bottom if they win and the Tigers lose to North.

However, Forestville has been in excellent form recently, and I expect that to continue with another win in this one.

By James Woite