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Again we got lucky on the predictions with another perfect 5 across the board. We only have 1 team being Mt Lawley left unbeaten as they top the points with 29pts across all Division 1 teams and it's only themselves & North Beach in 1 Blue North still unbeaten. Looks like North Beach will be very tough to topple so I'm happy to make the early call & predict we'll see them back in 1 White next year. Stranger things have happened but they should be there & probably might be joining their top team, although they'll be good enough to survive. However, it does make you think that if all the strange stars aligned we could have only 5 clubs in 1 White next year. If North Beach go up & their 1st come down that will be like Basso this year. If both Basso stay put & their 3rd come up from 1 Blue North, that's 3 Basso sides. If Ossie Park go down from PL & their 1 Blue North side look good to come up, then that's another double. Then if the Sorrento 1st side drop & Sorrento 2nd's stay in 1 White. Obviously unlikely but it does go to show that some sides have great depth across those bigger clubs. And this dominance does seem to historically transfer to the PL side, where I would roughly guess that only 7 different sides in the last 20 years have won 1 Red/PL. With only 3 clubs winning it more than once over those 20 years, being Doubleview, Manning & Osborne Park, indicates how hard it is to win a 1 Red title & stay competitive year on year.
Anyway back to 1 White & we seem to be getting some more clarity on who's who in the Zoo after another interesting round of results. Mt Lawley have established a nice 1 game gap between them & the rest of the Comp but if they played to their ability, which they have, that was always going to happen as they have played the bottom 3 sides & the 5th team so no real tests to date. Basso 1 chase them hard & grabbed some massive percentage to boot over the last 2 weeks. And Gosnells sit just under Basso in 3rd spot after a tough loss in R3. The Roo's are 4th but unfortunately they are nearly half the score of the top side so we wouldn't see them troubling the top until after Xmas, if they can get their game right but R4 certainly helped their cause.

Cockburn 88 (7) v Rossmoyne 67 (1)
Josip (joe) Marevic 20 v Allan Petchell 17
William Tepania 19 v John Carter 24
Michael Simunovic 17 v Craig Edson 16
Marc Abonnel 32 v Walter Harvey 10


The Roosters had done ok on the road losing some close games but we did like the look of those loses as they were hard fought right down to the last end. Adding another home win onto these performances didn’t catapult them into top spot but puts them within striking distance when they get a few easier games.
The River Rats dropped another loss & now it’s starting to look like survival is the first port of call then aim for a crack at Finals in the 2nd half of the season. Sitting 3 of the bottom mightn’t be a fair reflection & you would think a few more home games will get them out to safety.
Joe v Petchell was a good tight affair against 2 quality rinks with Joe edging the game by 3 shots. Big Willie dropped to Carter by 5 shots where the Rossmoyne rink coming home to strong. Simunovic edged Edson by the minimum in another tight contest to give Cockburn another vital point. The difference was the Abonnel side again against the Harvey’s side where they absolutely dominated by 22 shots to make the difference & carry the Agg.
Result: Cockburn 7 - 1
Prediction: Cockburn 6 - 2

Sorrento 86 (7) v Gosnells 73 (1)
Ronald Rogers 21 v Frank Carbone 22
Lance Martin 22 v Robert Foy 17
Alan Anderson 18 v Grant Nicol 17
Ian Linford 25 v Brett Holland 17


We predicted the upset & thought there might be under half a dozen in the finish but the Swans did it a little more comfortably than expected by 13 shots. Yes they dropped a few games early but they stayed competitive & for me that is a huge sign early in the season. They have encountered some reasonables changes from last year so this win against one of the top sides will be a huge confidence booster.
Carbone esged Rogers by the bare minimum in a contest that went right to the wire. Martin got Foy by 5shots which probably gave the Swans a massive chance of grabbing the Agg by just keeping a tight leash on Foys rink who were unbeaten over the first 3 games. Anderson got another massive result against Nicol’s side & now it was game on for the Agg. Linford steps up with a massive 8 shot win over Holland & the upset was complete with a big 13 shot Agg & a huge 7pts.
The Swans are only 1 game off a Finals spot in a big 3 way tie on 16pts. While the Kookaburra’s get the wind taken out of their sails, they’ll get plenty of chances to recoup over the next few Rounds but some of those Rounds will test them.
Result: Sorrento 7 - 1
Prediction: Sorrento 6 - 2

Mt Lawley 86 (7) v Bassendean 2 52 (1)
Anthony Einfeld 29 v Richard D'Souza 8
Corey Bessant 16 v Eugene O'Sullivan 17
Mark Masel 24 v Mark Cook 14
Andrew Jones 17 v Peter Madigan 13


Probably the Mounters easiest game of the season & they did what was expected of them. Another 7pts keeps the gravy train moving forward & still unbeaten has a nice ring to it. If they get 4 of the next 5 they'll certainly be the top tip for promotion but some tough weeks ahead on a few surfaces they have never played before. Although for the moment they are certainly the team to chase as they sit on top with a nice percentage to match the position.
Einfeld took D’Souza with ease by a massive 21 shots to give the Mounters a massive jump on the Agg. O’Sullivan did pull a point back for Basso with a bare minimum win over one of the last few unbeaten sides, so it was a good strong win for Basso. Masel got back into the winning circle with a healthy 10 shot win over Cook & leaves Cook 0-4 with -35 shots. Jones had a good battle against Madigan & pushed clear late on by 4 shots.
The party bus continues to roll for the Mounters as the target grows a little bigger on their back for the competition. Basso are back to the drawing board & will need some massive performances to give themselves a chance of survival.
Result: Mt Lawley 7 - 1
Prediction: Mt Lawley 8 - 0

Bassendean 1 104 (8) v Warnbro 51 (0)
Jovan Krstic 26 v Barry Kalinowsky 16
Simon Alden 22 v Kieran Cousens 9
Stein Davies 33 v George (dr) Jackson 8
Russell Ellis 23 v Dennis Pattullo 18


Massive result for the Lions here & grabbing 8pts means a huge amount to their title ambitions. Basso dropped both of these games to Warnbro last year so they needed a lift. They were conscious of dropping this Home one last year by nearly 20 shots so they were out the gates fast against the Wizards. The Wizards did seem to match them for pace over the first half but the Lions pulled clearly across all rinks & the further the game went the more comfortable the home side looked.
It was a long drive down the Kwinana for the Wizards as they have now dropped in 4 games, about half the games they dropped over the entire season last year. The next few weeks won't get much easier for them but they are a decent side who'll bounce back over the coming Rounds. The low scoring might be a concern as only putting up 51 shots isn't where they need to be. Yes they put up 51 shots against Ossie Pk last year but that game was a weird day where I think some rinks got called early & it was a very wet & stormy day. They need to be grabbing more shots to give them a good look each week.
Krstic continued their great form against Kalinowsky by 10 shots as they cruise to the top of the skippers table. Alden eased past Cousens by a big 13 shots to give the Wizards side a 1-3 start. Davies waited a few games to get the win & it was worth the weight with a huge 25 shot win over Jackson. Ellis topped off by sticking a cherry on top with 5 shots over Pattullo.
The Basso wagon is back on track with some percentage to boat. Warnbro are in a world of pain sitting in the dreaded playoff spot but you would expect them to bounce back but it will take some time to get back to the top 4.
Result: Bassendean 8 - 0
Prediction: Bassendean 6 - 2

Quinns Rocks 63 (1) v Wanneroo 104 (7)
Steve O'Neill 20 v David Triffitt 19
Martin Hinchcliffe 16 v Christopher Buchholz 29
Hugh Ward 18 v Neville Costello 29
John Berecz 9 v Kingsley Toster 27


Quinns had another tough day at the office against the Roo's who needed to grab some critical points. Breaking the 100 mark in shots can be a bench mark & sometimes it doesn't really matter. I'm pretty reluctant to say Quinns are heading to 1 Blue but the signs are not looking great so far. I was worried last year when they dropped over 100shots 3 times but they were all AWAY games & they bucked the trend & survived very nicely in the end, 1 game clear of playoffs. However, dropping 2 100+shots at HOME has got to be a different story and both healthy whippings of sorts with 50 shots then 40 shots margins. I will leave the tea leaves of R6 to make the call but if Quinns don't win the next 2 games, it will be an extremely long road back to safety.
O’Neill got back on the winning trail like we thought against Triffitt & leaves that Roo’s rink down near the bottom of the ladder struggling for a little touch of form. Buchholz put forward a huge performance against Hinchcliffe by 13 shots to give the Roos a huge chance of grabbing the Agg. Ward is probably rethinking signing that form after leaving the Roos as they sit rock bottom on the ladder & -60 shots, which will be hard to swallow.
Quinns sit in a very lonely place at the bottom of the ladder & a long way back from there. The Roos get back into the winners circle with a huge win on the road & a big 7pts.
Result: Wanneroo 7 - 1
Prediction: Wanneroo 6 - 2

LADDER
PlayedWinsLossDrawRinksSFSA%Points
Mt Lawley440013356249142.9729
Bassendean 1431011357267133.7123
Gosnells431010329296111.1522
Wanneroo42208330295111.8616
Cockburn42208320292109.5916
Sorrento4220831132196.8816
Warnbro4130729334285.6711
Rossmoyne4130528832788.079
Bassendean 24130526235074.869
Quinns Rocks4130527538271.999
SKIPPERS
Joe Krstic40042Bassendean 1
Anrthony Einfeld40036Mt Lawley
Andrew Jones40023Mt Lawley
Marc Abonnel31046Cockburn
Corey Bessant31037Mt Lawley
Simon Alden31030Bassendean 1
Grant Nicol31024Gosnells
Neville Costello31022Wanneroo
Russell Ellis31019Bassendean 1
Chris Buchholz31017Wanneroo
John Carter31016Rossmoyne
Robert Foy31013Gosnells
Eugene O'Sullivan3105Bassendean 2
Lindsay Strange2103Warnbro
Joe Marevic22017Cockburn
Kingsley Toster22016Wanneroo
Mark Masel22011Mt Lawley
Ronald Rogers2209Sorrento
Ian Linford2201Sorrento
Barry Kalinowsky220-3Warnbro
Frank Carbone220-7Gosnells
John Berecz220-8Quinns Rocks
Alan Anderson220-8Sorrento
Mick Martin220-12Sorrento
William Tepania220-14Cockburn
George Jackson220-28Warnbro
Steve O'Neill220-28Quinns Rocks
Trevor Close10012Gosnells
Wally Harvey110-13Rossmoyne
Stein Davies1205Bassendean 1
Brett Holland120-9Gosnells
Craig Edson130-2Rossmoyne
Martin Hinchcliffe130-11Quinns Rocks
Kieran Cousens130-16Warnbro
Peter Madigan130-17Bassendean 2
Michael Simunovic130-21Cockburn
Richard D'Souza130-41Bassendean 2
Dennis Pattullo010-5Warnbro
Linton Pike010-6Bassendean 1
Allan Petchell030-15Rossmoyne
Rawley Lang030-25Rossmoyne
David Triffitt040-20Wanneroo
Mark Cook040-35Bassendean 2
Hugh Ward040-60Quinns Rocks