Saturday 27th August

Round 22 is upon us with Finals Football just around the corner. Come 5pm on Saturday afternoon it will be the end of the road for seven of the teams in 2016, leaving five teams the opportunity to fight for a shot at Grand Final Glory on September 24 at WIN Stadium.

Corrimal Rangers have been the runaway success story of this season's WGC Cranes District League after being crowned Champions with three rounds to spare and with it an imminent return to the IPL.

Behind them,Warilla Wanderers will finish second whilst Fernhill have wrapped up third position going into the last round.

Thirroul FC looked to have secured a place in the finals with a fourth place finish even if they lose their last game because of a superior goal difference (+7).

However, we are guaranteed some excitement on the last day with four teams (Helensburgh 28, Balgownie Rangers 28, Kiama Quarriers 28 and Berkeley Sports 27) all in with a chance of pinching 5th spot on the table.

 

Warilla Wanderers (2nd - 49pts) v Helensburgh Thistle (5th - 28pts GD +7) @ King Mickey Park

Even though they have finished a long way behind Champions Corrimal, Barney King's side have had quite a consistent season picking up 25 pts from a possible 30pts in the second half going into the final round.

Another two good wins against Bellambi (5-0) and Kiama Quarriers (2-1) in a double header last weekend have them primed for an assault on the finals in a couple of weeks.

The only downer for Coach King, coming out of the game with Kiama on Sunday was the late sending off of experienced mid-fielder, Paul Gaffney for a Foul and Abusive Language Charge, which will certainly see him miss the game against the Burgh and quite possibly a game or two in the finals.

Helensburgh come into this game in pole position to grab that vital 5th spot on the table with a healthy goal differnece of +7 but they will need to shoot for the three points which will be no easy task against a hot Wanderers outfit.

Having been outside the five for the majority of the season, Thistle have given themselves a real fighting chance with a gritty 2-1 win over fellow contenders Balgownie last Saturday courtesy of a late winner from substitute Luke McCann and then they picked up a valuable point off Fernhill in a catch up game on Tuesday night.

Helensburgh Coach, Matt Callaghan, knows all about finals football and you can bet he will have his charges primed for a supreme effort in this one given what's at stake.

The Wanderers came out on top by four goals to two in Round 11 but you can bet this will be their toughest game since the last time these two sides met.

Tip: Draw

 

Balgownie Rangers (6th - 28pts GD -2) v Oak Flats Falcons (9th - 23pts) @ Judy Masters Oval

The Rangers were gallant in defeat in their loss to Helensburgh in Round 21 but they managed to bounce back 24hrs later with a solid three goals to one victory over University in a deferred fixture to give them a strong chance of progressing to the Finals.

Of the four teams vying for the elusive 5th spot, Balgownie appear to have the easier fixture on paper, although they will find Oak Flats no pushover after they picked up three points in Rd 21 with a win over Wests Illawarra on the back of brace from Daniel Pisani and will be looking to finish the season on a positive note.

Balgownie were successful (3-1) when they travelled to Oak Flats earlier in the season and with a lot more at stake for the home side in this one I expect them to prevail and extend their season for at least another week.

Tip: Balgownie Rangers

 

Berkeley Sports (8th - 27pts GD-6) v Fernhill (3rd - 44pts) @ Berkeley Sportsground

Unfortunately for Berkeley their season has stalled a bit at the wrong end of the season as they suffered two losses in a double header weekend last week against Corrimal (1-2) and Thirroul (1-5) respectively.

The Home Side have struggled somewhat of late with numbers in their ranks and it doesn't get any easier in Round 22 with the visit of Fernhill who as a club have a terrific season across the three grades.

Having said that, Coach Paul Mears has done really well with the limited numbers at his disposal to have his first grade side fighting for end of season honours but could find this game as a case of 'a bridge too far'.

Fernhill had a taste of finals football in Round 21 in grinding out a tough two goals to one victory over Thiroul in a 'nail biter' with Chris Hobbs coming up with an 89th minute winner moments after Thirroul had equalised to get back into the game.
Then on Tuesday they were involved in another close game up at the Burgh before settling for a share of the points in a one/one draw.

Tip: Fernhill

 

Kiama Quarriers (7th - 28pts GD -3) v Corrimal Rangers (1st - 61pts) @ Kiama Leisure Centre

After sitting comfortably in the Top 5 for much of the second half of the season, Kiama appear to have hit the wall with three losses in as many games in the last week.

Last weekend, the Quarriers may not have had too much luck on their side in going down to a shock loss in a seven goal thriller against UOW FC on Saturday and then suffering a heart break loss to a last gasp goal in a narrow 2-1 loss against the Wanderers on Sunday.

To revive their Semi's hopes they could not ask for a tougher opponent than Corrimal Rangers, who even though they have won the League Title rather comfortably, do have one more challenge to overcome and that is to go through the 22 rounds undefeated.

However, the Rangers received a stern challenge in Round 21 and got out of jail against Berkeley with a stoppage time winner from Save Treneski

getting Corrimal home in a tight one.

One interesting sideshow in this game is the battle for the Golden Boot award for Season 2016. Corrimal's Mark Picciolini and Treneski have scored 50 odd goals between them with Picciolini one goal to the good. Could be interesting to see who takes the penalty if one is awarded and the two players are level pegging.

Kiama Coach, James Spence will be asking his troops for one last supreme effort to see if the Quarriers can turn a good season into a terrific campaign with three points here. Never say Never!

Tip: Corrimal Rangers

 

Wests Illawarra (11th - 14pts) v Thirroul FC (4th - 31pts GD +7) @ Unanderra Oval

Wests Illawarra's disappointing season concludes with the visit of Thirroul who looked to be safe in fourth spot although it is mathematically possible that they could miss out on the Final Five.

The home side battled out a two/two draw with Bellambi on Tuesday night to confirm their status in District League for Season 2017. Hopefully, Rookie Coach, Arthur Kinnas and his young group of players will have learnt from the experiences of Senior Football this season and will be much the better for it going forward.

Thirroul have had another strong season across the club with all three grades playing in the Final Series with the first grade side having been near the top end of the table for much of the season.

The Thunder have been in good form of late and although beaten late on against Fernhill on Saturday they were able to make amends on Sunday with a strong five goals to one success over Berkeley with five different goalscorers on the teamsheet.

Wests are not without their chances in this one given that the last time they picked up three points in a game was the round 11 game against today's opponent by one goal to nil. Hard to go past Thirroul in this one though.

Tip: Thirroul FC

 

University FC (10th - 22pts) v Bellambi (12th - 8pts) @ Kooloobong Oval

In the remaining game there is not a lot hinging on it other than both sides playing for pride. UOW have had a mixed season with just the seven victories including a good win against Kiama in Round 21 by four goals to three with Luke Foscarini scoring a fine first half hat-trick in a 17 minute period.

However, they weren't able to back it up on the Sunday, going down to Balgownie Rangers three goals to one.

Bellambi have had a season to forget for one reason or another and finish the season in the relegation spot. This has come on the back of relegation from the IPL in 2015 and the Rosella's just haven't been able to re-group. The club could well be at the crossroads with some soul searching to be had over the next few months.

On a positive note, Bellambi won the corresponding fixture in Round 11 (3-0) so they could finish the season on a high with a good showing at Kooloobong.

Tip: University FC

Report by David Naylor

Photo courtesy of Pedro Garcia