Game Preview - 2018 Round 4

By Samuel Lindsayvs Eastwood (A) Over the past five years there is one team we’ve faced more than any other, and they are the Woodies from North Western Sydney. Nothing rings truer than home ground advantage when it comes to the rivalry between the two clubs, with Southern Districts last regular season win coming in Round 1 of 2013. You’ll have to look even further back to find Eastwood’s last win at Forshaw. So closely matched are the two clubs that Southern Districts have scored 340 points over five years and conceded 339 when facing the formidable Woods. Similar to 2017, Southern Districts are slowly building into the 2018 season. A defeat last weekend at the hands of minor premiership holder Manly was a physical encounter and one the Rebels can expect to face again this weekend at TG Millner. Similarly, Eastwood suffered a similar fate at the hands of Northern Suburbs. Whichever team bounces back this weekend to return to the winners circle, could have huge ramifications on the ladder heading into Round five, as both clubs will be keen to stay in the hunt for a home Semi-Final. With the NSW Waratahs on a bye this weekend, a handful of squad players have jumped back into Shute Shield squad selections. Hugh Roach has been named to start for Eastwood with fellow hooker Damien Fitzpatrick getting the week off. Jed Holloway has not been named in the Southern Districts starting line-up but could be in contention for a late call-up or feature from the bench. The front row rotation continues, with Shambeckler Vui likely to be injected fresh from the bench at some stage on Saturday. While Eastwood always prove to be stern opposition, Southern Districts have been hitting their strides at training this week and are preparing to set a standard, before heading to the reigning premiers, Warringah next week. 1st Grade will kick-off at 3pm with the first game of the day, 4th Grade getting underway at 10:45am. SDRC TEAM NEWSStarting Line-up1. Matt Gibbon2. Liam Dwyer3. Conor Young4. Angus Ryan5. Fili Tufui6. Alex Perez7. Conor Mitchell8. Marcus Carbone (c)9. Eli Pilz10. Christian Kagiassis11. Luke Smart12. Denny Godinet13. William Latu14. Rowland-Keni Kotabalavau15. Jamie Verran STATSForm – Last 5 matchesSouthern Districts W L W L LEastwood W L L W LSouthern Districts vs Eastwood at TG Millner – Past 5 years2017 Round 8 Eastwood 27 – 12 Southern Districts2016 Round 6 Eastwood 27 – 15 Southern Districts2015 Round 10 Eastwood 42 – 41 Southern Districts2014 Round 17 Eastwood 16 – 13 Southern Districts2013 Round 1 Eastwood 16 – 18 Southern DistrictsSouthern Districts 5 year record vs Eastwood P W L F AForshaw Rugby Park 4 4 0 135 77TG Millner 5 1 4 99 128Finals 4 1 3 106 134Total 13 6 7 340 339