ROUND TWENTY: North Adelaide Rockets v West Adelaide Bearcats
WOMEN By Kieren Vartuli
In what is going to be the final Premier League game played at Hillcrest, the North Adelaide Rockets have the opportunity to finish their season on a high at home as well as potentially dash West's finals chances. Sitting on 41-points (tied with Southern and 2-points clear of Norwood), the Bearcats’ season may hang in the balance.
With everything to play for, a victory against West will be tough for North after the Bearcats edged out a title contender in Eastern by 4-points. The tale of the tape for West has been their ability to move the ball around and find different scorers when needed. Against the Mavs, West Adelaide had 5 players in double figures including a team high 17-points from Jasmine Fejo off the bench. Round 19 saw the Rockets struggle to keep the ball safe against the ferocious Tigers in the cage. Recording 23-turnovers, the Rockets will obviously need to rectify this severely to stand a chance against the phenomenal Bearcat defence.
With the importance of it being the last time the ladies take Jo Hill Court at Hillcrest, it is possible for an upset to finish their history in that building. But with their positioning and potential season on the line, West Adelaide may just have this one.
Hang Time Prediction: West Adelaide
MEN by Daniel Renfrey
The Rockets were impressive in their 83-91 away win over the Tigers in Round 19, playing stifling defence and some efficient offence. Starling, McVeigh, Johnson and Dowdell all combined well offensively, sharing the load and setting up good looks for each other to overcome what was a reasonably strong Tigers defence. Their defensive work was also impressive, rotating well to quell some of Southern’s offensive options. The Bearcats will need to be at their best to defeat this Rockets side, especially after their six-point loss against the Mavericks on Saturday. The team defended well, playing tight on players like Morris and Cherry, but they were not able to produce cohesive, efficient offence when needed. If they can get some more fluid player and ball movement happening this week they will be a chance, but it’s hard to see them shutting down the Rockets talent.
Hang Time Prediction: North Adelaide Rockets
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