ISL 2012 Round 10 Preview (Sunday 11th November 2012)

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1 ISL 2012 Round 10 Preview (Sunday 11th November 2012) MEN S LEAGUE I ve just heard word that there is going to be a slam dunk comp and a 3-point comp for girls and guys on Grand Final day. 1 representative per team. OHHHH WHAT UP. Teams should start discussing who should go in the comp and maybe have a little competition at training. I can t wait to do up odds for this. In regards to the dunk comp... I m all in. This week shows all games to have an effect on semi finals spots. It is a great reflection on the league that every game will count up to the last round. There are 4 teams with a record of 5-4 and two of those teams might win on Sunday and still miss out on the finals with a 6-4 record. That s a tough break. I m telling everyone to get to the courts early because Sunday starts off with a bang am (TSS Court 1) Celtics Basketball Club (6-3) v Western Star Trucks (5-4) Preview: Ohhhh man this game is going to be awesome. Both teams go into this game with the same pressure. Lose and you are most likely out (Loser has to hope bowler bar lose...a whole day of waiting too). It will be a heartbreaking loss to whoever goes down in this one. Celtics have been red hot for weeks (5-1 last 6 weeks) and are getting strong contributions from their bench at the right time. Simon Stevens continues to pour in the points, but it s Jason Aucoin who is the barometer for the C s. If Jase is decides to take over, no one on Western Star Trucks can stop him. Look for the Celtics to attack the rebounds against the undersized Western Star Trucks and expect Dr. Glass aka Andy Harrison to squeeze his way to a handful of O boards this week. This could be the last time we see THUGLOVE! What a season for Robbie Garner s boys. Backs to the walls from day one and playing for their lives. The best thing is that they have a bunch of guys who could go off in any game (Blackburn/Zaremba/Piok/Williams/Richo) as well as the class of Jeffries. They ll need to get their mojo up for this game and play bigger than they are.

2 Prediction: Going to have to take the Celtics, so hot right now. 2 point win. Key Factors: You do not want Max St. John to have the ball when the game is on the line. Max Hit a back breaking three last week that ended the game and then hit a buzzer beating trey in emphatic style on Wednesday A grade. Should be a great coaching duel both coaches place great emphasis on effort and this should be a game of wild swings. Whoever can make a run in the last quarter will win. Match-up to watch: Zaremba v Aucoin. If Toby plays Jase to a draw on the day, I think WST win. Aucoin however has been starting to pick up his pace and will try to be aggressive early and draw fouls (Tobes has been in early foul trouble for weeks). It ll be a good match up in the stand too with hot wives club members Chrissy and Peta getting into it as well. Odds: Celtics Basketball Club $1.75 Western Star Trucks $ pm (TSS Court 1) Dickfos Dunn Eagles (7-2) v Man Trucks (5-4) Preview: Dickfos are locked into the number one spot in their pool but lost last week and will be looking to show some winning form heading into the finals. Man Trucks however will be looking to win and hope that Travel Masters upset SSR in the following game. It ll be fascinating to watch the Eagles play against their coach Pero Cameron. Will they play hesitant? I doubt it. Pero wouldn t accept that and will be focusing on the win and won t be worried about anything like that. He ll need the ISL s strongest worker, the yeoman-like Jackson Parr to pound the glass, backed up by the ever improving Brent Wallace. Hutcho will continue his fine offensive display. If James and Dickerson return, the Eagles will look to rediscover their fast pace game and coach Williams will be looking to get the ball moving at every opportunity. Prediction: Man Trucks to win by 10 Key Factors: Do the Eagles rest their injured players again??? If Man Trucks get out to an early lead will the Eagles throw out their bench and let them get some experience? As always the Man Trucks guards need to step up, they;ll have their hands full if a full roster plays for the eagles. Match-up to watch: Cassidy v Wallace should be interesting in this. If Wallace continues his strong play, I think Man Trucks will dominate the game. However Cassidy will have to not only take the big man off the glass, he;ll have to worry about Parr as well. Odds: Dickfos Dunn Eagles $1.90 Man Trucks $1.90

3 1.30pm (TSS Court 1) Travel Masters (0-9) v Somerville Smash Repairs (5-4) Preview: Travel Masters have been on the cusp of victory many times this year only to fade away in the last quarter. They looked good last week and if they get Broomy back they could really cause some problems for SSR. Adam Brown could break out again and Steve Massey has been putting up numbers for the second half of the season. I really hope they show some heart in this last game and throw everything at SSR. They don t deserve to be Word is that Mick Conlon is back for this game. He won t want the stink of an 0-10 team that he drafted on him. SSR will have to win the game if Man Trucks wins the game before and if this is the case, do not expect Captain/Coach Adam Darragh to take this game lightly. Pre Game locker scene: Steve Weiland slapping Ben McKay in the face and screaming Do you want it?, Big Dog Waite will be talking to the young boys on the team and giving encouragement ( Yo Remy, Your game is nice. ) and over in the corner sharpening his knife collection, looking dangerous, will be Dave Gurney. Coach Darragh steps in Boys we re three wins away from glory. The captain knows you can do it. You know you can do it. The coach knows you can do it. And I, Adam Darragh, know you can do it. Everyone storms out of the locker hair bristling on necks. Prediction: Depends on the game before, but SSR should win by 20 Key Factors: Who turns up for Travel Masters??? Will Dave Gurney be thinking about claiming the scoring title this year? Get em up David! Ben McKay from SSR had this to say during the week about Travel Masters, They might have a team of my good mates (Medson/Webb/Massey) but they can t play a lick. The ratbomb will be taking charges and be good for about 8 boards a game too, there s a reason I m the league leader in multiple categories Match-up to watch: Gurney v Massey. If Massey can force Gurney into tough shots and get his outside game going, Travel Masters could squeeze some pressure onto SSR. Odds: Travel Masters $15 Somerville Smash Repairs $ pm (TSS Court 1) Bowler Bar Battlers (5-4) CCCLive.TV (3-6) Preview: This will be the last time fans get to see Scott Kenny play this season. Leading the league at 32.1 points per, Kenny has been the hottest ticket to watch this season. Last year James Legan won the hearts of the crowds, but this year it s been Kenny that has lit up the scoreboards and kept the Pirates a fiercely competitive group. He s played every game with a roster that s had plenty of

4 injuries, missing players and newly brought in players. However Coach Taylor has called on Kenny s number throughout the season and he has delivered. HOT SEAT The Battlers are 1-4 in their last five and coach V-dog will be feeling the heat right now. Feeling it from rumours of a Pat Riley style takeover from last season s head coach Joel McInnes... With good reason too. The battlers are a mess right now. Fighting with each other, the other team, ref s, whoever. They haven t been able to work out zones for weeks and have continued to shoot blanks from down town. They ve been playing with games in hand but will be kicked out of the comp with a loss today. CCCLive.TV have played above my expectations all year and will look to finish the season strongly. Look for Dave Lydiard to provide strong support. Prediction: Kenny to have one last crazy game of 40+ to put the battlers out and end the CCCLive.TV season on a high. Key Factors: How awesome is it that Dario Strebl leads the league in fouls. Dario fouls three people walking into the stadium. Who will superfan Tyrone rattle in this game. Well known for calling out players from the sideline, the Battlers co-owner will be fired up for this one. Peter Hill should be back for this game and he will make a big difference to the CCC lineup. Match-up to watch: Kenny vs the Battlers world. Look for Bowler Bar to throw the kitchen sink at Kenny in this one. They know if they keep him contained they will win easily. Odds: Bowler Bar Battlers $1.70 CCCLive.TV $2.30 WOMEN S LEAGUE Last chance for the women s teams to get ready for finals with all 4 teams guaranteed positions. The talk of the week was not about whether anyone can beat the Allstars in the finals, but about Authentic not being in finals...one of the wonders that show how tight ISL is and how important it is to play well all season not just for half of it am (TSS Court 2) Diego s Tortilla Factory (4-5) v Harvey World Travel Tweed Head (6-3) Preview: Harvey World have the second spot sealed and potentially could control who they play in the semi-final by winning this game (Meaning they

5 would play Celtics) or if they rest players and give their bench a good run and lose the game they will likely play Diego s again next week (if the All-stars defeat Celtics). Both teams will be likely more focused on next week and this one could easily go either way. Prediction: Diego s may be more desperate to get the win and will do so by 5. Key Factors: How much both teams want to play and who plays for HWT Match-up to watch: Marney Lee v Heidi Freeburn Odds: Diego s $190 v HWT $ am (TSS Court 2) 102.9FM Hot Tomato (1-8) v Authentic Turkish Bakehouse (3-6) Preview: ATB are the hottest team not called The Allstar Group and they will be looking to avenge the round 5 loss (which may have cost them a semi-final spot) and finish the season with their heads held high. Hot Tomato are playing for pride. Coach Forbes had personal commitments last week, but he will be back and desperate to get the upset win...although honestly, I don t like his chances of changing the likely result of this game. Prediction: Authentic will take this game easily...by 21. Key Factors: Now that ATB are officially out of the playoffs will they have a full roster of available players? Match-up to watch: Aleisha Myers v Carrie Mill...look for the on fire veteran to show the up and comer how it is done. Odds: Hot Tomato $5.00 v ATB $ am (TSS Court 2) Celtics Basketball Club (5-4) v The Allstar Group (8-1) Preview: The Celtics will know entering this game what a win/loss will do to their final season standing and they will be desperate to avoid a repeat of this game next week. It is unclear if the Allstar group will be playing to win or playing to give their bench some minutes, but either way this game will still have plenty of spice with both teams looking forward to next week. Prediction: Even if the Allstars rotate their players they have the deepest roster and won t want to end the season on a loss. Allstars by 8. Key Factors: Who plays significant minutes.

6 Match-up to watch: Bree Griffiths has carried the Celtics lately and this week will likely match up on star youngster Kristy Wallace, should be another good youngster v veteran match-up. Odds: Celtics $1.40 v Allstars $3.00