Talking Points for our final round

Well after a wet and disrupted season we finally got here and the 2022 AFL South Coast Senior Finals Series is just around the corner.

Focusing in on this weekend, let’s look at the talking points for the final home and away round in the 2022 season.

Men’s Division One:

Are the Bulldogs beatable?

Currently, you’d have to say that they aren’t. Ten wins from ten games in the regular season supported by a very healthy 752.98 percentage well and truly cement the club as competition leaders. Three of the competition’s four top goal scorers come from this team highlighting their offensive prowess. Though they  have also conceded the least goals of any team in the competition marking themselves as a well-rounded threat heading into the finals series. 

Finals push!

Just because the regular season is winding down doesn’t mean that there aren’t still clubs with it all to play for. Port Kembla and Nowra head into the final week hoping to be the team to round out the competition’s top four. A win for Port Kembla against the third-placed Kangaroos would see them cement their place in the finals series and would provide the confidence that they can beat the teams they will match up with in the finals. Should they lose, however, the door is left open for Nowra to make a late charge into the finals when they take on the Wollongong Lions at North Dalton Park. History provides no further clues about the way these results could swing. The wild weather that has plagued this year’s season has meant that Port Kembla is yet to meet the Kangaroos in a match, whilst the only game played between Nowra and the Lions was back in round eight where the Lions emerged victors in a low-scoring affair. 

Men’s Division Two: 

Finals push again

Once again there is a battle for fourth place in the Men’s Division Two competition. Bomaderry and Figtree head into the final round indistinguishable from each other in every metric apart from their percentage. Bomaderry holds onto their lead as a result but the weekend’s results have an opportunity to upset this balance. Bomaderry will take on the second-placed Shellharbour City Suns in a difficult away game in order to cement themselves in the finals. Figtree however will take on the third-placed Northern District Tigers in a do-or-die clash in front of their home crowd. How this ends up is anyone’s guess. History suggests that both teams are in for a difficult time on the field. The last time these teams met their opposition was in Round Nine of this season. Bomaderry went down to Shellharbour 53-23, whilst Figtree fell to a 70-24 loss to the Northern Districts Tigers.

Men’s Premier Division:

Still pushing for finals: 

In a story becoming all too familiar the fourth place spot remains a tightly contested prize in the Men’s Premier Division competition. Northern Districts and Shellharbour City are separated by only their percentage heading into the final competition round. The Tigers will challenge first-placed Figtree in front of an unfriendly crowd to keep their finals hopes alive. In their last meeting, the Tigers went down 80-41 but will be hoping to flip the script and hand Figtree their first loss of the season. The Suns meanwhile will be tasked with defeating the sixth-placed Wollongong Lions at North Dalton Park if they are to make the jump into the top four. History is certainly on the side of the Suns, as they came away 92-69 victors against the Lions in their last clash.

 Top Spot in Danger:

The Wollongong Bulldogs have proven themselves one of the most consistent sides in the association with their Men’s Division One and Two sides leading their respective competitions. Their Premier Division team will have the opportunity to complete the three-peat of minor premierships this weekend when they take on the Kiama Power at their adopted home in Hollymount Park. The Bulldogs emerged as 84-21 winners when the sides last met in Round 10. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs though, their fate is not entirely their own. They currently sit behind Figtree by ten match ratio points meaning that they will need Figtree to fall to the fourth-placed Northern Districts to make the jump into first place. This would require handing Figtree their first loss for the season, but as far as the Bulldogs are concerned, there’s no time like the present.

Women’s Division One: 

Eyes up footy

Compared to the Men’s competitions the Women have a much less stressful run to the finals. The Division One women face very little mobility in terms of ladder positions. The biggest question facing these sides is how do you beat the Wollongong Lions Red? The Tigers are the only team to have come close this season when they handed the Lions an 8-all draw in round 5. The Lions boast a 662.90 percentage which leads the 547.17 held by the second-placed tigers. These two teams look almost certain to meet in the big dance, though the third-placed Bulldogs have the potential to provide the upset. 

Women’s Premier Division:

 The women’s premier competition is one of the more even competitions going around. With very little movement possible heading into the finals, it is now up to the teams to steel themselves for a competitive finals campaign. Once more the Wollongong Lions are emerging as favourites heading into the final round of the regular season with only a single loss to their name and a 712.31 percentage, conceding only 65 points. Figtree has proven that they are capable of beating Wollongong earlier in the year and will be hoping to do it again should the two clubs meet in the preliminary final. Figtree club president Glen Cook said that there was the potential for the saints to “cause some havoc” and that is certainly what the side would be hoping to do.