Flight Centre Premier League Weekly Preview - RD10
Cup games and rain means a log jam could be on the horizon so points on the board will be important over the next couple of weeks. The traditional split halfway down the table hasn’t happened yet but depending on results could start to open up. It’s more likely the league will actually get tighter. On with the show... Holland Park Hawks vs Logan FC Saturday 6:15pm at Whites Hill Reserve Holland Park Hawks bounced straight back with a comprehensive defeat of Grange Thistle and jumped into second spot courtesy of the postponed Friday night game. Before the season kicked off they would have taken that for sure. Importantly, they are having little trouble finding the back of the net. This game could be a banana skin with their opposition being something of an unknown factor to them. Logan FC resurrected their season with five goals in 21 minutes of attacking brilliance against Ipswich Knights last time out but this week will be an even bigger challenge. They could easily go on to bigger and better things if they can put it in a winning performance up at the Hill. No one wants to rely on luck but surely they must be due for something to fall their way. They are better than they’ve shown so far. Anything but a win would disappoint Holland Park but Logan were good last week. Should be plenty of goals. Prediction: Hawks 3-2 Rochedale Rovers vs Albany Creek Saturday 6:30pm at Underwood Park Rochedale Rovers are playing well again which is a relief for their supporters and good for the league with the long-time powerhouse back into the top four. Last week they slipped past the Bulldogs by a single goal in a less than memorable match-up but it was a vital three points on an average pitch. The troubles are behind them but just how good they are will be proven with a win over the high-flying ACE. Albany Creek have done everything right so far as they look towards the biggest season in their history. Fourth place on goal difference does them an injustice because they deserve to be second. How last week’s huge postponed game affects them remains to be seen but it shouldn’t have too much of a bearing yet. Scoring has been probably been their only hindrance and they’ll need two goals to win. A lot will be learned from this contest regarding the future of both clubs. Another toss of the coin but home advantage will help. Prediction: Rovers 2-1 Eastern Suburbs vs Mitchelton Saturday 7pm at Heath Park Eastern Suburbs are everyone’s pick to go on an extended run of wins and they must be kicking themselves for letting go of a 3-1 lead over Lions last Saturday. As the only team with all their games played they’ll need to keep winning to stay in touch. The ladder leaders are a daunting prospect but the Tigers should have the advantage of knowing the required tempo coming off last week’s contest. Mitchelton would have wanted to play last weekend just to keep their rhythm going whilst they are in such excellent form but it should have little bearing this weekend. The title is too far off to worry about although it will look a little closer if they stay in top spot with a victory. The key is to win the big games which this undoubtedly is despite their relative positions and record of results. Mitchy are top but they’ll need to be at their best at Heath Park. Make no mistake, the Tigers will be up for this game. Prediction: 2-2 draw Souths United vs Capalaba Saturday 7pm at Wakerley Park Souths United have suffered from inconsistency and playing below their capacity but still have a tendency to get away with a result. Being heavy favourites, which they will be, presents a different challenge to recent times and it will be interesting to see how they handle it. An early goal or two could almost wrap up the points before halftime. Capalaba have been improving, which is better than when they had the potential to improve, and with the return of Ahamad Azzawi will be a different proposition. A narrow loss to Rochedale on Sunday was unfortunate but they were in the game almost until fulltime which is good. They’ll fancy themselves to win this, which they are capable of if they can tighten up defensively a little bit more. Every game against the Bulldogs has an element of intrigue as they continue to find equilibrium but United have enough to get away with this. Prediction: Souths 2-0 Lions FC vs Grange Thistle Saturday 7pm at Lions Stadium Lions FC might have only drawn to Easts last weekend but they showed a semblance of their dominating form, not the least being almost winning from 3-1 down midway through the second half. Whether they can come back and grab a third consecutive premiership is secondary to their immediate improvement on the field. It seems unlikely but it’s not impossible. A loss this weekend and it’s over though. Grange Thistle will be hoping for the traditional bounce-back which comes from a change of coach and they’ll need it with this road trip to contend with. Once again, they took the lead last weekend but ended up with another dodgy loss and one thing they can’t do this weekend is expect their attack to take them to victory. Might be time to find room for a bus in the backline even if it’s only for this game. Unfortunately for Thistle they don’t match up well against Lions’ squad. They need a bit of a miracle but won’t get it. Prediction: Lions 4-0 Ipswich Knights vs Peninsula Power Sunday 3:15pm at Eric Evans Oval Ipswich Knights are hopelessly out of form and it seems already gone for the year. Aside from their upset victory over Lions they have conceded nineteen goals and scored none in four games culminating with five goals conceded in last week’s second half. Where to from here? They have to stop shipping goals for a start before they can even consider being competitive and Power will give them real problems. Peninsula Power have season-defining matches against Holland Park and Lions just around the corner but they need to get the points from Ipswich before they can even contemplate getting back into the top half of the table. And that shouldn’t give them too much bother particularly if they get in front. Not firing on all cylinders just yet but running more smoothly every day. Maybe the Knights will lift for this game like they did against Lions, but it seems much too deep a hole for them to climb out of. Prediction: Peninsula 3-0
