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ROUND 9 PREVIEW

Bundaberg Spirit v Sunshine Coast Fire, Saturday 14 May, 7.00 pm, Across The Waves Sportsground, Thabeban Street, Bundaberg

There are some interesting dynamics heading into this encounter, with Bundaberg Spirit having at last got their first win of the season, 3-2 away to the Capricorn Cougars last week while the Sunshine Coast Fire only just kept their unbeaten season going with a last-gasp equaliser at home to the Whitsunday Miners. Based on history, a Spirit v Fire contest should be expected to lead to a comfortable win for the Fire, but this season is beginning to have a less predictable look about it. With English import Kallum Nix having taken up as a ball-playing forward where the injured Commins Menapi left off for the Spirit, up front alongside the tireless Shane Youngberry whose hard work is beginning to pay off in goals, the home team can hope to genuinely trouble the best defence in the league. But it is at the back that the Spirit continue to look vulnerable and they must fix that by Saturday night if Fire skiipper Tyson Holmes, Shaun Blackman and the Fire’s speedy wingers are to be prevented from enjoying a productive night. Holmes, in particular, just keeps coming up with the goods and the home side will need to find a way to shackle him if they are to follow up their win over the Cougars with any points from this contest. One can imagine Spirit coach Tony Roebuck making one or two phone calls this week to Whitsunday Miners coach Graham Harvey to find out how the Miners did that last week.


Whitsunday Miners v Brisbane Strikers, Saturday 14 May, 7.00 pm, Harrup Park, Mackay

After they came within seconds of beating the champions and league leaders, Sunshine Coast Fire, only to concede a controversial penalty to end up drawing last Sunday, the Whitsunday Miners have suggested that they will not be lightweights for the likes of the Brisbane Strikers in this year’s QSL. Having gone hammer and tongs with the Fire at Kawana, they will return home this weekend as a team with renewed belief in themselves while the Strikers, in contrast, will need to rediscover their form after a poor display in losing at home to the Gold Coast Stars last week. The stakes are high for the visitors, who cannot afford to drop more points before playing the Sunshine Coast Fire in a crucial game next week, while the Miners need the points to make a serious assault on the top four. The Strikers will be hoping that star forward Matt Thurtell is ready to return to the side because they looked a far less potent force without him last week. But a key to their chances could also be fellow forward Gareth Musson, who has scored goals for fun against the Miners in the past, but at present seems to be struggling to regain his touch after a year out of the game with injury. Not the biggest of sides, the Strikers will be steeling themselves for a physical contest from the Miners, who pose a big threat in the air and from set pieces, but the normally wide open spaces of Harrup Park might work to the Strikers’ advantage if they can rediscover their passing and running game. The home team’s cause won’t be helped by a probable suspension to coach Graham Harvey, who was banished from the bench by the officials last Sunday after an explosive outburst.

NQ McDonald’s Razorbacks v Capricorn Cougars, 7.00 pm Saturday, 14 May, Brolga Park, Townsville

Last week’s courageous draw at the home of their arch rivals FNQ Bulls has left the Razorbacks still grimly holding on to third place on the league table, with the challengers coming up thick and fast from behind. They will be eyeing off this fixture as a ‘must win’, given that the Capricorn Cougars are in the midst of a horror patch of five straight losses and seem unable to prevent the leakage of goals described by coach Washington Gonzalez as “silly”. The Cougars can take some heart from their late fightback last week to almost snatch a point from a match in which they trailed 3-0 to Bundaberg Spirit. The odds might be evened up for this fixture if Cougars centre back Michael Cay is able to take his place in their team and if classy Razorbacks skipper and centre half Josh Evans is ruled out as expected after sustaining a hamstring injury. But home fans will be entitled to hope that the Razorbacks will have too many guns going forward for the uncertain defences of the Cougars, who will also have the long trip north to contend with.

Gold Coast Stars v Queensland Academy of Sports, 2.00 pm, Sunday 15 May
Match-of-the-round status this week probably goes to this fixture between the competition’s fourth and fifth-placed teams. Both are now breathing down the necks of the Razorbacks and Strikers above them and a win to either could potentially lift them into second place this weekend. The Stars, having dethroned the Strikers at Perry Park last week, will be high on confidence and looking bring that form to their home ground while the QAS, who had the bye last week, have put together a run of four games unbeaten to defy the old adage about youth players being inconsistent. The QAS will encounter a solid team who have a defence well-martialled by John Costello, who is lending his experience to the team from the unfamiliar role of centre-half, but an attack that is not yet firing on all cylinders. The QAS appear a slightly more potent team, with Elliot Ronto in particular in good goal scoring form, but they will have to be play smart to make their technical proficiency the decisive factor against a team that was tactically very astute last weekend.

What are crowd like in this league and in the Brisbane one.

What are crowd like in this league and in the Brisbane one.