Seagulls need to find form if they are to beat Torquay

Angelsea vs. Modewarre @ Alcoa Oval –
Saturday, 2:10pm

A DRAW with Geelong Amateur and a four-point win over Barwon Heads has put Anglesea back into finals frame as we approach the halfway mark of the season. The Roos were able to hold off a fast finish from the Seagulls. A loss would have had Anglesea six points adrift of the top five. “We look back at the start of the year, and if we’d pencilled in six points out of eight points for these two games, I don’t think that would have been the case, so it’s certainly a big tick for us,” coach Paul Nigro said. In more good news for the ‘Seas, Dale Carson made a successful return from a short-lived retirement. However, Anglesea might be without recruit Joel Donaldson due to an ankle injury. Modewarre will enter the clash off a loss to Geelong Amateur that snapped a six-match winning streak that started when the Warriors beat the Roos in Round 2.

Last time they met: Round 2, 2019: Modewarre 14.16 (100) def. Anglesea 13.8 (86)

Prediction: Modewarre by 11 points Torquay vs. Barwon Heads @ McCartney Oval – Saturday, 2:10 pm

BARWON Heads is set to welcome back reigning Ash medallist Mat Dyer and star recruit Tim McIntyre from suspension for Saturday’s crucial clash with Torquay at McCartney Oval. The Seagulls have been far from at top form in the past month, with last week’s four-point loss to Anglesea following a 13-point win over Newcomb and 25-point loss to Drysdale either side of the interleague break. The Tigers, on the other hand,  have strung together five consecutive wins by an average of 50 points to move into second spot on the ladder with the BFL’s best percentage. Last week’s 53-point victory over Ocean Grove came despite the absence of James Saker, Matt Deledio, Paul McMahon and Harry McKay. Both Saker and Deledio are expected to play against Barwon Heads. In their absence, Charlie Johnson, Kyle Bienefelt, and James Reither all made their debut, with Bienefelt among the best players. Barwon Heads won the previous meeting in Round 2 by 26 points

Last time they met: Round 2, 2019: Barwon Heads 12.17 (89) def. Torquay 9.9 (63) @ Howard Harmer Oval

Prediction: Torquay by 7 points Drysdale vs. Queenscliff @ Mortimer Oval – Saturday, 2:10pm

DRYSDALE will look to snap a win-loss sequence dating back to Round 2 when it hosts Queenscliff on Saturday. The Hawks produced one of the most ruthless performances of the season in handing Newcomb a 156-point hiding last week. The day belonged to Jarrod Garth, who doubled his goal tally for 2019 with 14 majors. Co-coach Luke Matthews says the former Bell Park star had been building towards that type of performance. “He hurt his ankle earlier in the season, and he came back against Torquay and he was a bit scratchy,” Matthews said. “But, against Barwon Heads andB Modewarre, you could see it was about to come… it was a great reward for him.” After an injurycruelled first half of the season, Queenscliff grabbed its second win in beating Portarlington by 112 points on the back of six goals from the returning Jayden Durran.

Last time they met: Round 1, 2019: Drysdale 20.8 (128) def. Queenscliff 9.13 (67)

Prediction: Drysdale by 31 points Portarlington vs. Geelong Amateur @ Ron Evans Oval – Saturday, 2:10pm

GEELONG Amateur looks set to enter the second half of the 2019 season on top of the BFL ladder after continuing Modewarre’s miserable run at KFC Oval last week. Ammos made it 23 wins from 24 clashes against their former GDFL rival since the Warriors entered the competition. Amateur now face the struggling Portarlington. The Demons sprung one of the biggest upsets in BFL history in beating Geelong Amateur for the first time at a similar stage in 2018. However, that’s unlikely to happen this week, with Portarlington’s average losing margin sitting at just over 93 points. Portarlington will have to find a way to stop forward stars Mitch Day, Sam Hosking and Harry Kershaw, who have 63 goals between them, to be any chance of a shock win. Last time they met: Round 2, 2019: Geelong Amateur 18.21 (129) def. Portarlington 3.4 (22) @ KFC Oval

Prediction: Geelong Amateur by 75 points Newcomb vs. Ocean Grove @ Newcomb Sand & Soil Oval – Sunday, 2:10 pm

NEWCOMB will welcome back Cory Ogle from suspension, while key defender Richie Hollins and forward Joel Geue are both a chance to return, as the Power looks to snap a five-match losing streak when it hosts Ocean Grove on Sunday. Newcomb
had the better of the Grubbers by five points in a thrilling Round 1 meeting. However, the Power has lost five consecutive matches, with Rory Nicol’s men on the end of a 156-point hiding by Drysdale in Round 8. Despite the loss, Nicol was remaining upbeat despite the margin. “To be honest, we used Barwon Heads and Drysdale as practice matches and tried a few different things,” he said. “It worked at Barwon Heads, where we potentially could have won. But not much worked on Saturday for us. We live to fight another day. We lost the battle, but we didn’t lose the war. We’ve got to get back up and go again on Sunday.”

Last time they met: Round 1, 2019: Newcomb 7.7 (49) def. Ocean Grove 6.9 (45) @ Ray Menzies Oval

Prediction: Ocean Grove by 19 points