Sport
4 July, 2025
Hottest and coldest contest
ROUND 12 kicks off with a contest between the hottest and coldest teams of the season, as the Hawks drive up the highway to the ladder leading Crocs.
The Crocs have won seven straight and will look to make it eight against the cellar dwelling Hawks.
For the winless Hawks, it does not get much tougher than this week, but they may want to organise the bus to leave a little earlier. A competitive final three quarters against the Tigers meant little more than pride after they conceded the first six goals of the match.
The aforementioned Tigers play host to the recently luckless Saints at Watsons.
After being outside the top four a fortnight ago, the Tigers have responded, even with skipper Darcy Keast out, to sit second after 11 rounds.
They will need to remain on their game and will not need a reminder of their round four clash, when the Saints produced an upset to win by 11 points.
The Saints know their best is good enough for any team in the comp and would dearly love a win to end the round in the top four.
The men’s slate of games concludes with the Lions hosting the reigning premier Cutters.
After starting the season like a house on fire with a 3-0 opening, the Lions have stuttered, winning only once since the Labour Day long weekend, and that win was against the cellar dwelling Hawks.
After dominating the reigning premiers to win by 42 points for that third win, some were ready to consider the Lions as premiership fancies.
They will need to get back to their winning ways soon, or risk losing touch with the four.
For the Cutters, their search for consistent, week-to-week footy continues, as they look to prime their run into a crack at back-to-back premierships. They would love to get one back at the Lions after round four too.
To chronologically kick off the women’s schedule, the Crocs host the Bulldogs in the game of the round.
The Crocs have already claimed one massive scalp in the Nest this year and will look to double that tally to show that they will not be content with just making up the numbers in the top four.
The Bulldogs won’t give the game up easily though, as they have put together the body of work to suggest they are the undisputed premiership favourites. Expect them to come out firing, two wins separates the top three teams.
Those two teams chasing the Dogs are the Tigers and Lions, who host the Saints and Cutters respectively.
Barring an upset, these will be wins and both sides will be looking at making them big wins. In a top three this tight, a minor premiership or double chance in the finals could be decided by percentage.
This weekend also marks the first in three that all six women’s teams will play, and each team only has one more bye left in the season.
All games have been given the twilight slot, so if the rain stays away, expect some fast footy as the players revel in the cooler conditions.
