Women's Previews - Round 3

South Adelaide Panthers (0-1) v Forestville Eagles (1-0)
Sunday April 14, 3.00pm at Marion

The South Adelaide Panthers will continue their tough start to 2013 when they host the Forestville Eagles.

The home side will be attempting a first home victory over the blue and gold since March 24, 2007. They have also not won at home since July 16, 2011, when they beat West Adelaide by 18.

While the Panthers have a tough encounter against the Sabres, the Eagles have the night off. They beat West in Round 1, behind 21 points and 12 rebounds from Olivia Thompson and a 13 point, 9 rebound effort from Mia Newley.

This will be Forestville premiership winner Jamie-Lee Bow’s first game against her former club since she started in the 2011 Grand Final. Bow had a league-best 7 assists in Round 1.

The Eagles should be able to make it 12 straight over South.


North Adelaide Rockets (1-0) v Sturt Sabres (1-0)
Sunday April 14, 1.15pm at Hillcrest

The North Adelaide Rockets and Sturt Sabres will feature in the Match of the Day, in what will be the second of a back-to-back for both clubs.

The Rockets have Woodville on Saturday while the Sabres have South. Both will expect to win given they are against the bottom two sides of last year.

The Rockets won both 2012 matches against the Sabres convincingly. In fact, in was their Round 4 match against Sturt that really got the Rockets on track. They were lucky not to be 0-3 going into the game, but tore the Sabres apart on that Sunday afternoon 72-52. From there, only good things happened, with an unprecedented run to a Grand Final their reward.

There will be plenty of talent on display, with WNBL players Jo Hill (North) and Hannah Bowley and Molly Lewis (Sturt) likely to suit up.

A real cliff-hanger could be on the cards here. It is these sorts of games that often make the difference in playoff seedings come the end of Round 18.

I will tip Sturt, though it could easily be a North win.


West Adelaide Bearcats (1-0) v Eastern Mavericks (1-0)
Sunday April 14, 1.15pm at Port Adelaide

The Eastern Mavericks will be hoping to continue their impressive road form when they visit the West Adelaide Bearcats on Sunday.

With star Tess Madgen in the line-up, the Mavericks have not lost a regular season away match since the same date last year. Their only road defeats since have come at the hands of Centrals in the 2012 Elimination Final, and against North and Forestville in Madgen’s absence.

During that same timeframe, the Bearcats have won just one home game. Thus, a Bearcat victory would certainly go against the trend.

However, it will be a tough ask for the Mavericks to back up again after a potential fierce encounter with Norwood less than 24 hours prior.

The Bearcats also have a match the night before, although at least they do not have to face the reigning champions – instead, they have the Southern Tigers, whom Norwood beat by 57 points last week. If they can build an early lead, then they can look at resting key players like Jess Mahony with one eye on this Mavericks clash.

With that in mind, the Bearcats should have a little too much for the Mavericks down the stretch.


Central District Lions (0-1) v Southern Tigers (0-1)
Sunday April 14, 1.15pm at Starplex

Over the last two seasons, matches between the Central District Lions and Southern Tigers have gone a long way to deciding the final five come the end of the season.

However, with big names like Jess Mahony, Elizabeth Keane, Alexandra Ciabattoni and Ashleigh Spencer amongst others heading for pastures new, the stakes are a lot lower for this Saturday’s game.

The Lions were competitive for three quarters in Round 1, largely thanks to a gallant performance from import Tamika Dukes. Dukes had 22 points and 13 rebounds, but the Lions fell out of the contest in the fourth quarter. Brianna Wedding (14 rebounds, 9 points) also played well.

Elsewhere, the Tigers struggled against Norwood, losing all four quarters by at least nine points. It was the first CABL game in a Tiger uniform for Ashley Biddell, Stana Zecevic, Kelsie Rutland and Melanie Koster, while a number of others posted career highs in minutes.

With Dukes playing well, the Lions ought to square the ledger at 1-1.




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Sell Tickets.

Run your Event.

Sell tickets, QR Code + add to wallet functionality, track attendance, receive weekly settlements - all with GameDay Events & Ticketing!

A laptop and smart phone displaying the GameDay Events app.