By STEVE MENZIES
Lovers of good netball are in for a treat on Saturday when Federal Club Eastside play Rovers Complete Construction at the Pat Gallagher Netball Centre in the KFC A Grade for the fifth time this season.
The two teams are battling for supremacy this season – but this will not be known until September.
Virtually all the best players in town will be on court for this game in one or the other of the two teams.
Rovers has three time best player winner Lauren Parai in the pivot to be central for the team’s attack and defence.
She is supported by the young dynamo Lucy Nicolai and veteran Shannan King on the wings.
In defence former association best player Tracey Meekings and Teagan McClure.
They will be made to work hard against the Federal shooting duo Simone Tribe and young gun NT 19-and-under representative Brooke Wilson or her sister Carly.
Federal has a choice at centre between Phoebe Wilcox and Dana Schembri with the equally at home on one of the wings.
In defence national league duo Tahlia Lee and Caitlyn Paterson have dominated the circle for many years.
They will have a good challenge against Rovers duo Wendy Stafford and Molly Southam.
And Federal coach Deb Grey has versatile veteran Crystal Dixon to fill in anywhere required.
Southam has an equally important role to play apart from scoring goals. She, with help from teammates, must curtail Lee’s match-winning drives down the court.
The game will be decided by errors and intercepts which will be caused by pressure.
It will be played at 3pm inside the stadium.
Looking through the other grades there are plenty of games of interest.
An example is the A-Reserves where all three games could have a bearing on the top four.
The two Wests sides, Gillen (third) and Epilogue (sixth) are playing each other with the outcome affecting the final placings in the top four in September.
This will depend on the results of the other games – Federal Office National Angels (fifth) against Rovers Complete Construction (top) and Federal Club Eastside (fourth) against Neata Glass Giants (second) – as there is only one win between fourth and sixth.
Two Wests teams play each other in Yeperenye B-Grade. Wests Jaws Contracting (fifth) play Wests LinkUp (sixth). Both are well out of finals consideration but the incentive to get one up on a sister team could drive an extra effort and make it a good spectacle.
In B2, undefeated Rovers Complete Construction will play third-placed Wests Loco Buritto while two sides just outside the top four – Rovers Spritzers and Neata Glass Giants – play each other.
The Trophy Central C-Grade game with the most interest is the clash between third-placed Giantsamers and Wests Jaws Contracting.
A loss by Wests will likely to drop out of the four and be replaced by Federal Swifts who will be favourite to defeat winless Sundowners Gap View Hotel.
All 17-and-under games are interesting since the association split the grade in two with the top four teams playing themselves every three weeks.
While the top three sides in the 15-and-under grade – Seasons ASYASS, Federal Fever and Wests Jaws Contracting – appear set, fourth-placed AS Print Giants is facing a challenge from Rovers Thunderstruck.
Giants will play top side Seasons from noon on Saturday but have a bit of fortune as Rovers play Federal Fever.
The netball day begins with the entertaining 8-and-under and 10-and-under grades at 9am followed by the 11-and-under at 10am and the 13-and-under grade at 11am.