Game Preview - 2018 Round 9

By Samuel Lindsayvs Northern Suburbs (H) Ladies Day is finally coming to Forshaw and it looks set to be a huge spectacle once again! On the field Southern Districts will be preparing to set the standard of entertainment as we welcome Northern Suburbs to Forshaw. History is in favour of the Rebels, the Shoremen have failed to win in Sylvania Waters during the regular season on the last five attempts. Whilst the Rebels succumbed to defeat against Sydney University last weekend, the previous two rounds saw performances worthy of restoring the Fortress Forshaw title. North of the Harbour, the Shoremen are coming off three wins after their draw with West Harbour in Round Five. Their wins include a trip to Coogee Oval, a grind against Parramatta and a 14-97 drubbing of Gordon. Southern Districts will be hoping to continue their home win streak to maintain pace with the top six. Shambeckler Vui re-joins the NSW Waratahs squad for this weekend’s trip to the Sunshine State, replacing Paddy Ryan in the squad to take on the Queensland Reds on Saturday night. The change will likely see Willie Ma’umalanga regain the number three jersey this weekend. Marcus Carbone, Albert Hemopo and Alex Perez will contest for the remaining two back-row places in the starting line-up. Round 9 also brings a new debutant into the First Grade squad, Will Thomas will make his first start for the Southern Districts top squad after appearing from the bench over the past two weeks. The Welsh utility back has featured for his country at 10 7s tournaments after making his debut in 2011/12 in Hong Kong at the age of 18. Jake Douglas will playing his 100th game in the candy stripes this weekend, the second rower has been back to his barnstorming best since returning from his second stint in the UK over summer. Another huge milestone this weekend as Luke Smart prepares for his 100th first grade game for Southern Districts. Whether he’s played in the second row, back-row, centres or wing, ‘Smarty’ has always given his all for the Rebels and I’m sure this Saturday will be no exception. With six tries to his name already in 2018, hopefully he can celebrate the occasion with a few more! Off the field, Ladies Day will be in full swing. There won’t be a better place to be this weekend, we have an incredible guest speaker, Leah Barthel joining us, a fashion parade, live music, tarot card reading, a magician, firefighters from the 2018 calendar and an incredible raffle with a host of prizes. We’ll also have live music in the clubhouse from 5pm – 9pm combined with $10 meals. So head on in and make Forshaw the Fortress it’s renown for. First grade will be kicking-off at 3pm and the first game of the day, fourth grade will get underway at 10:25am. SDRC TEAM NEWSStarting Line-up1. Matt Gibbon2. Liam Dwyer3. Shambeckler Vui4. Angus Ryan5. Jake Douglas6. TBA7. Conor Mitchell8. TBA9. Waldo Wessels10. Ben Chalmers11. Luke Smart12. Will Thomas13. Denny Godinet14. Rowland-Keni Kotabalavau15. Christian Kagiassis STATSForm – Last 5 matchesSouthern Districts L L W W LNorthern Suburbs W D W W WSouthern Districts vs Northern Suburbs at Forshaw – Past 5 years2017 Round 14 Southern Districts 37 – 33 Northern Suburbs2016 Round 5 Southern Districts 32 – 17 Northern Suburbs2015 Round 8 Southern Districts 32 – 31 Northern Suburbs2014 Round 16 Southern Districts 62 – 41 Northern Suburbs 2013 Round 14 Southern Districts 32 – 28 Northern Suburbs Southern Districts 5 year record vs Northern Suburbs P W L F AForshaw Rugby Park 5 5 0 195 150North Sydney Oval 3 1 2 71 79Finals 2 0 2 38 82Total 10 6 4 304 311