SEABL MID WEEK PREVIEWS – WOMEN – ROUND 10

Bendigo is undefeated at home this year, but that record may not survive this weekend when they take on Kilsyth.

Kilsyth are surely the overachievers of 2012. Without any restricted players and a shortage of bigs, the Lady Cobras have managed nine wins from eleven games, sit second in their conference, and are riding a five game winning streak. The Chambers/Bishop/Afeaki days are a distant memory as the new-look Cobras play a fast-paced brand of entertaining basketball. Chantella Perera is playing the best basketball of her SEABL career and has put herself in MVP calculations, while Sarah Parsons looks comfortable at her old club. But any of the Lady Cobras on the court can score, and the strength of the team is that they are not relying on any individual player to score 30 points every night for them to win.

Is Bendigo a good team? Definitely. Are they a great team? Not at the moment. That may sound like a harsh assessment, but it does grant the Lady Braves the potential to make up the ground between themselves and the front-runners before the playoffs. It must also be remembered that this is basically an entirely new team, and one that are still making changes this late in the season. But it’s also fair to say that those excuses of being a new team are starting wear thin, if they haven’t worn out completely already. It’s time for Bendigo to assert themselves. They have a talent pool that would leave other teams salivating, and anything less than a strong finish to the year would be unacceptable.

Prediction: Kilsyth by 4.

 

Frankston will see this game as a big opportunity to break their seven game losing streak, but Brisbane would be eager to break their own four-game winless run. But favouritism falls to the Lady Spartans as the Lady Blues may be without Heather Bowman.

 

Unfortunately for the improving Canberra, they run into the hottest team in the competition this week. Geelong was victorious over the previously undefeated Knox Raiders last week, and is unlikely to be troubled by the Capitals Academy.

 

For Knox, this is an opportunity to re-establish themselves as competition leaders, while for Bendigo it’s a chance to announce themselves as a threat. If Kelly Wilson plays, it will also be her first game against her former club. Should be a tough battle.

 

There is always plenty at stake when Tasmania teams face off against each other. However, Hobart are looking far more settled and have pushed Knox and Dandenong all the way in recent weeks, so the Lady Chargers may start as slight favourites.

 

Kilsyth methodically dispatched Sandringham last week and in the process extended their winning streak to five. An Albury-Wodonga team struggling to find a spark shouldn’t trouble the in-form Lady Cobras.

 

Dandenong may find Nunawading a far tougher proposition than on previous encounters. The Spectres are 4-1 at home and have the height to trouble the Rangers. Dandenong should still win, but it may only be a single-figure margin.

 

Sandringham and Ballarat have many similarities. Both are in fourth position in their conference, and both play in a comparable style. The advantage for the Rush may come from how well their new import has adjusted and what influence she can have.

 

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