Flight Centre Premier League Weekly Preview - RD12

We’ve turned the corner and headed into the home stretch with huge league and cup games to be played, including the giant clash between Lions and Power on Saturday. There is a big shadow hanging over this round in the shape of a rain front tipped to hit the South-East corner which is precisely what Mitchelton and Albany Creek don’t need at the moment. Keep an eye on the radar folks. On with the show... Mitchelton vs Grange Thistle Friday 8:30pm at Teralba Park Mitchelton once again proved their mettle and remain as Premiership favourites after their 2-2 draw with Rochedale Rovers which so easily could have been another three points to add to the tally. It would be a stretch to say they have an easy run of games coming up but certainly it could be harder. Anything but a victory against their local neighbours would be a huge surprise. Grange Thistle might be a long way behind everyone else but a gutsy draw last weekend, coming back from 2-0 down at Heath Park, is a sign that things may start to improve. Promoted teams tend to improve as they become used to the standard of play in their new division (if they start poorly.) Having had a tendency to score early, a second half draw is a good sign but they’ll have to be even better against Mitchelton. Grange Thistle are capable of challenging anyone on their day, but despite some good signs, Mitchelton are a different proposition. Prediction: Mitchelton 3-1 Albany Creek vs Ipswich Knights Friday 8.30pm at Wolter Park Albany Creek continued the season long trend of unpredictability in the Flight Centre Premier league with a dominant 4-1 win over Souths United having lost only the week before by the same scoreline. Catch-up weekend will be vital and could send them top of the table if they keep winning so getting past Ipswich at home will give them a psychological advantage. Ipswich Knights are in trouble. There’s no way to sugar coat the truth after losing 5-2 against Capalaba and falling into the relegation zone. How they recover from that is a difficult call and it looks like another tight ending to the season on the way. Damage limitation needs to be the ultimate goal at the moment because they are conceding a ridiculous amount of goals. Ipswich Knights are the current whipping boys and the trip to play ACE at Wolter Park is tough enough for the best teams. Prediction: ACE 4-1 Rochedale Rovers vs Souths United Saturday 6:30pm at Underwood Park Rochedale Rovers secured a handy draw away at Mitchelton and sit tentatively in top place on goal difference. It’s a far cry from their limp performances of recent years and a good sign as the club moves on from those dark times. Players finding form has been the key with Kado Aoci leading the golden boot and Lewis Cameron looking brilliant on the ball. Most impressively, Seiji Shizuno is having a great year. Souths United crashed and burned at Wolter Park last time out, losing Daniel Varma to a red card when the game was already decided and generally looking a shadow of the side which has shown grit, resolve and some brilliant play. A trip up Underwood Road won’t be a walk in the park having lost to Rovers in round one when they weren’t anywhere near as good as they are right now. A lot depends on which Souths team turns up on the day but Rovers are playing well and should get another victory. Prediction: Rovers 2-0 Eastern Suburbs vs Logan Lightning Saturday 7pm at Heath Park Eastern Suburbs surprised everyone, and probably surprised themselves, by not beating Grange Thistle on the weekend despite shooting out to a 2-0 lead. On the face of it that result shouldn’t have too much effect but they are chasing their tails with the teams immediately above and below having two extra games in hand. It’s a bit of a tightrope but they will be expecting three points at home in this one. Logan Lightning have two big scalps to their name in Lions and Brisbane City and must be wondering how they are still only ninth on the ladder. That could start to change dramatically if they keep the run of form going and, on paper at least, the Tigers should be a marginally easier proposition. Three valuable points could see them climb a few places and they must be getting more confident every week. Crikey, this is a tough game to call and it could all come down to how the teams play on the day with not much between them at the moment. Prediction: Logan 3-2 Capalaba vs Holland Park Hawks Saturday 7pm at John Fredericks Park Capalaba have already put their horrendous early season results behind them, culminating in a dominant 5-2 win over Ipswich Knights last weekend. They are out of the relegation zone which must give them a mental boost as they set about catching more teams above them. Although this match-up is a completely different proposition playing at home will help. Holland Park Hawks lost to Peninsula Power at AJ Kelly Field last weekend but it wasn’t the greatest of games and a marginal improvement could easily have changed the outcome. With one eye on their massive Westfield FFA Cup game against Moreton Bay United on Tuesday they’ll be hoping to get this game out of the way with a minimum of fuss but it won’t be anywhere near as easy as the first time they met in Round One, especially with the recent surprise departure of Dan Smith to rivals Peninsula Park. Capalaba will be itching to get a measure of revenge for the 8-0 loss so this isn’t a foregone conclusion. Hawks should have enough though. Prediction: HPH 3-2 Lions FC vs Peninsula Power Saturday 7pm at Lions Stadium Lions FC simply must have a better second half of the year, certainly as far as results are concerned, and it doesn’t get much tougher than playing a talented Peninsula side which is improving all the time. Every game has been a crunch game lately and the loss of Alex Schiavo to Heidelberg won’t help. They’ve had the wood over Power in recent times and playing at home is an advantage. Peninsula Power have started to shake off the enigma surrounding their season with last weekend’s win over HPH being a real confidence boost. Defensively they are in great shape, bolstered by the arrival of Dan Smith from Holland Park Hawks and with probably only Thomas Mendy finding his shooting boots being the last piece in the puzzle. A win in this game could dramatically change their outlook not only mathematically but mentally as well. There have been some classic games between these two teams and this shouldn’t be any different. Power are the form team. Prediction: 2-2 draw

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