Sydney Metro Blues v Kilsyth Cobras- Friday 5th July @ 7.30pm
Sydney Metro Blues v Kilsyth Cobras- Saturday 6th July @ 5.30pm
Sydney Metro Blues v Kilsyth Cobras- Sunday 7th July @ 9.30pm
While Wollongong and Perth are beginning to create a gap in the top two on the ladder, the remaining five teams are creating a logjam in the race for the final two spots in the finals.
Sydney Metro and Kilsyth are stuck right in the middle of that as the Blues are placed third but only two points clear of the sixth-placed Cobras.
That places these three contests in Round 5 as must-win’s for both clubs as the team that comes out on top will put themselves in a strong position to claim a top-four spot while the loser may struggle to keep up with the rest of the pack.
Kilsyth do have the added bonus of having played two less games than any other side and are coming off the bye in Round 4 which gives them more time to make their way up the ladder but they cannot leave their charge too late.
Playing at home this weekend, the Blues have also been buoyed by the recent addition of Soufyane Mehiaoui, with the European bringing experience and an ability to shoot and distribute.
He played alongside Tristan Knowles a few years ago in the European Champions Cup and it will be interesting to see them reacquaint with each other over the weekend.
West Adelaide Thunder v Wollongong Rollerhawks- Saturday 6th July @ 4.15pm
West Adelaide Thunder v Wollongong Rollerhawks- Sunday 6th July @ 12.15pm
At home for the second consecutive weekend, West Adelaide will be hoping to utilise that advantage against the best team in the competition.
Wollongong remain undefeated at 13-0 and while they are now assured of a finals spot, they will be looking to head into the post-season with a perfect record as they only have five games remaining in the regular season.
Brett Stibners is coming off a Player of the Week after tallying four straight double-doubles and a 50-point game while the performances of Shawn Russell, Luke Pople and Nick Taylor are ensuring the Rollerhawks have a multitude offensive weapons.
They are averaging over 80 points per game which is easily the best in the league but West Adelaide can hang their hat on their defence in 2019, giving up only six points more than Wollongong per game at 58 per contest.
That will be tested this weekend and the Thunder must improve from their Round 1 encounter with the Rollerhawks when they fell by 41 points and surrendered 77.
Queensland Spinning Bullets v Red Dust Heelers- Saturday 6th July @ 1pm
Queensland Spinning Bullets v Red Dust Heelers- Sunday 7th July @ 9.30am
Queensland’s current record of 4-7 may be deceiving considering their recent form that has seen them win three of their past four games while their last three losses have come by five points or less.
That said, they cannot afford too many more narrow losses if they want to make the playoffs with Kilsyth sitting on the same amount of points as them. On the flip side, they are only two points out of third place and could make significant inroads with two wins over Red Dust this weekend.
The Heelers are winless on the season and already suffered a heavy defeat to the Spinning Bullets back in Round 1, a game where Queensland were missing Tom O’Neill-Thorne and without Rob Pike, the equation is made even tougher for Red Dust.