NSW Super League Round 15 Preview

Both teams remained undefeated throughout this period, the Lions taking four wins from five while the Tigers, courtesy of two washouts, took two from three. A draw between the two was the only occasion when points were dropped.
Not surprisingly, they are first and second on the table, with Macarthur Rams, whose only loss was to the Lions, sitting in third. Apart from the still to be rearranged Northern Tigers v Macarthur Rams fixture, all three have now played each other twice, and so it may be a case of who keeps their nerve which will decide who tops the league come round twenty two.
This weekend, all three have home fixtures. Bankstown City FC tackle the resurgent Mounties Wanderers, who have climbed to fifth after a great run of results. They have won their past four now, putting them within a win of the third placed Rams, but it doesn?t come much tougher than a visit to Jensen Park. The Lions will be well aware that one of their two losses came against the Mounties, back in round four, but with Gosue Sama in peak form, Bankstown City will be tough to crack. For Mounties, Mark Symington has been amongst the goals lately, hitting a brace in each of the past two matches, so they aren?t shy of goalscorers either. 
Northern Tigers will meet Granville Rage at Mills Park. The Tigers had to work hard to overcome St George last weekend, getting a late winner, but those two extra points could prove crucial. The scorers in that game, Tom Spencer, Max Glanville and Adam Biddle, were no surprise, the trio being the Tigers? top scorers, with nineteen now between them. You don?t have to look too far to see who the Rage will need to stop, if they want to leave Mills with a point or three. For the Tigers, it will pay to keep a close watch on Granville?s Almir Dizdaric, who has netted ten this season, of the side?s seventeen.
So for Granville and the Mounties, a visit this weekend to the top two will prove some indication of where they are at.
Third placed Macarthur Rams will welcome St George to Lynwood Park. The Rams will need to overcome the hefty loss to Bankstown City last weekend, and will want the three points here, to maintain some pressure on the top two. St George require the points for other reasons of course, and will take some heart from their past two matches. While only eliciting one point, two goals were scored in each and it may be that their goalscoring woes are behind them. Sam Messam has hit the target twice in the past two, and he will relish the return visit to Lynwood Park. This was a 0-0 draw earlier in the season, but it is unlikely to be the same result in this.
Bankstown Berries, still fourth, will see Dulwich Hill arrive at The Crest. The Berries? results have been mixed lately, their win against Sydney University last weekend being their first in six games, and they are now threatened by both Granville Rage and Mounties Wanderers, who are just a point behind. They face a Dulwich Hill who performed admirably against Fraser Park last midweek, but maybe less so against Spirit FC, on the weekend. The competition between an in form Robbie Shields and Dimitri Zakilas may hold the key in this.
It is the start of a busy time for Dulwich Hill, for this will be their first game of five over sixteen days.
If the Lions and the Tigers were the winners during the recent top five battles, Fraser Park suffered the most. Fraser entered round ten in clear fifth spot but have slumped to eighth now, eight points behind the five. They have lost their past four matches with a 3-14 goals record, those three being all scored by Wassim Hijazi, so a return to form this weekend against Sydney University will be imperative. Uni haven?t hit the heights lately either, suffering three 1-0 losses in a row. They may not be conceding many but they aren?t scoring either and that is causing concern. It was 3-0 to Uni the last time these two sides met, a similar score here though is unlikely. 
The final game of the weekend takes us to Christie Park for Spirit FC v Hills Brumbies. Spirit have gained two wins now after a poor period, results wise, and have the opportunity to take advantage should Granville Rage and Mounties slip up. Two clean sheets for Spirit is the Spirit of old, who typically defended strongly. They face a Hills Brumbies who have had a couple of tough weeks following their defeat of Dulwich Hill. The Brumbies have now had forty goals conceded, a little over three per game, so it will be no shock should that be where Hills concentrate on this weekend. A similar performance as that against the Berries and St George, and indeed Dulwich Hill, will prove a boost for the Hills side.
-By Peter Rowney