Men’s
ROUND 17 sees a rare five team bye across the two competitions with only four games to be played.
That has not stopped the schedule makers delivering three absolute humdingers with three rounds to go.
Starting with the men’s comp, the game of the round sees the premier-elect Crocs welcome the reigning premier Cutters to the Nest.
The Crocs are riding high off the back of a remarkable 11-game (yes, 11) win streak as they look unstoppable going into finals.
They face a Cutters team coming good at the right time of the season after an inconsistent start and with this being the last regular season meeting between the two teams, it could very well be a grand final preview.
Both teams are coming off strong performances last round to prepare for this heavyweight bout.
The Crocs won an inaccurate showdown last match-up between these two to win by nine points in Edmonton.
The other men’s clash in round 17 is no less important as the third-placed Tigers host the fourth-placed Dogs.
Both teams are still an outside chance of nabbing second from the Cutters, but more immediately, the winner will almost certainly lock up a finals spot and even third place to secure a home minor final.
The Tigers will be feeling the more confident of the sides – they have won both match-ups this year at The Kennel.
Both teams have big games to finish the season, so would dearly love a victory here. Fans of chaos will be supporting the Tigers, with the Dogs playing the Saints in round 19 in what is looming to be a virtual win-and-you-are-in final round pre-final.
Women’s
THE first women’s fixture of the day sees the last regular season grand final rematch for this year as the Tigers host the Lions in an absolute belter.
Remarkably, none of the top three positions are locked in, meaning the Lions from third could still secure the minor premiership.
They will have to knock off the Tigers and the Dogs in consecutive weeks to pull it off, but will back themselves in both contests.
More immediately, both teams will know that a win on Saturday will be crucial to securing second spot and a coveted double chance in the finals.
The season ledger sits at 1-1 with both teams securing wins in ‘game of the season’ contenders.
The Tigers at home might just be slight favourites in this one.
The last game of the round sees the first genuine ‘dead-rubber’ for season 2025 across either competition as the Crocs and Cutters face off for the third time in a month.
The Crocs are locked into their maiden finals birth in fourth in an already fantastic season for this young group. They will have to wait until round 19 to find out their opponents so it is all about what they can control and work on until then.
The Cutters make their longest trip of the year nervously looking over their shoulder at the Saints, with a likely ‘spoon bowl’ at Fretwell in two weeks’ time.
Take care of business on Saturday though and they can worry about celebrating their season in their final home game.
