Super League Round 13 Preview

The fortunes of both teams this season are quite varied, with Granville steadily recovering from a slow start to now sit a handful of points outside the top-five, whereas Spirit has exceeded expectations in their debut Super League year and can even boast the competition?s best offensive record with 28 goals in 12 matches (the Rage have nine from 11 in contrast). The teams drew 0-0 in round two.
Sydney University welcome Fraser Park to Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday night (7.30pm). Uni will want to bounce back from their shock 1-4 loss to strugglers Liverpool last weekend but face a Fraser Park side who has turned the corner after their auspicious start to 2009. Uni have a terrific record against Fraser Park, losing just once to them in 10 league meeting ? a 3-2 result way back in May 2005. In fact, Uni have managed to slot two goals past Fraser Park in every game, bar one, including a comfortable 5-2 win in round two.
Central Coast Lightning entertain old foes Northern Tigers at Pluim Park on Saturday night (7.30pm). One point separates the two sides on the table and nothing much has separated them over seven Super League meetings ? the Tigers claiming four wins to the Lightning?s two. But poor defensive records on both sides of the ledger could result in a flood of goals in this match, much like their gripping 2-2 draw at Mills Park in round two, and the winner will probably land themselves a top-five position at the end of the weekend.
Mount Druitt Town Rangers play Bossy Liverpool in an interesting match-up at Popondetta Park on Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-off). The 2008 defending champions carved out their first win of the year against Uni (4-1) last weekend and will be full of confidence against a side hovering just two positions above them on the ladder. But Mount Druitt claimed their first Super League win over Bossy via a crushing 3-1 win in round two, and will be keen to put more distance between them and possible relegation. In the Rangers favour are three outstanding catch-up matches.
St George Saints take on Macarthur Rams in an important match for both sides at St George Stadium on Sunday afternoon (3pm). Competition leaders just two weeks ago, Macarthur can tumble to as low as sixth if they fail to conquer the Saints this weekend. St George, on the other hand, are starting to come together nicely and boast a decent record over the Rams. Macarthur have managed to only score twice against St George in five league meetings ? including a 1-1 draw in round two ? for just the one win in that time.
If you wanted to watch a cracking game of football, you couldn?t do much better than a trip to the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon (3pm) for a top-of-the-table showdown between PCYC Parramatta Eagles and Rockdale City Suns. The two pre-season tips sit one-two on the ladder with, not surprisingly, the league?s best defensive records (21 goals conceded in 21 games combined). Quite amazingly, however, is the stat that Parramatta have won all five Super League encounters against their heavyweight sparring partners Rockdale, including a gritty 1-0 victory in round two.
-By Daniel De Nardi