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Both teams have important goals at stake when competition leaders Palmyra travel to Kingsway to play fourth-placed Wanneroo in Saturday’s final round of the WA rugby club competition, sponsored by KWIK Crane and Transport Hire.
Palmyra have developed the wobbles coming into the home stretch of the competition and need to follow up last week’s solid win over Perth-Bayswater with a good performance over a probable finals contender before the play-offs start in Rockingham in two weeks. Palmyra’s place in the major semi-final is not under threat but they cannot afford any signs of complacency at this vital stage of the season.
The Roo-dogs stand to lose much more if they underperform in this game. After last week’s humiliating loss to a rampant Associates team, Wanneroo’s place in the finals is under threat if they lose without scoring a bonus point; that is, losing by more than seven points or failing to score four tries.
If Associates defeat an erratic Perth-Bayswater team by more than 40 points at Pat O’Hara Reserve, which would almost certainly include a bonus point for scoring four tries, they would sneak into fourth place on the table on percentage. It’s a big ask but Soaks scored 48 points against Wanneroo last week, and Perth-Bayswater have lost several games by more than 30 points, so it’s not out of the question.
The Roo-dogs have a stream of first string players coming back into play that should help solve their recent injury woes and reverse their recent poor form. Wanneroo boast just one win from their last four outings, struggling home against lowly Wests-Subiaco but losing to Nedlands, Cottesloe and Soaks.
At Pat O’Hara Reserve, 2007 premiers and 2008 finalists Perth-Bayswater host Associates after a disappointing season where the loss of a raft of senior players and an inconsistent attitude has dropped the men in black to seventh. A win should return them to sixth place for some minor consolation, along with spoiling Soaks’ slim finals chances. And Perth-Bayswater's sympathies are probably with their northern neighbours Wanneroo, rather than any of the traditional inner suburbs clubs.
Reigning premiers Kalamunda have suffered a season even more disappointing than Perth-Bayswater’s. However, a late season four-match winning streak by the Bulls has included the defeat of Associates and a whopping 72 point margin over Wests-Subiaco, and second-placed Cottesloe may be in for a surprise when they meet at Harvey Field on Saturday. The Seagulls have their sights set on a major semi-final spot and cannot afford to lose this match, with Nedlands just two points behind them on the table.
The Seagulls can’t rely on another club doing the job for them either. At Rosalie Park, Nedlands should record their tenth straight win against a long-suffering Wests-Subiaco team in line for the wooden spoon. The win will almost certainly complete an amazing comeback by the Royal Blues, from the lower reaches of the table to a potential major semi-final place should the Bulls trample the Seagulls at Harvey Field.
Rounding out the competition, eight-placed Rockingham and ninth-placed University fight for lower table honours at McGillivray Oval in their final games of the year.
by Rick Boyd
http://rugbywa.com.au/news/article,56275.html
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Originally Posted by Coach
