Round seven looms
The long road to catch-up games that were washed out at the start of the season made good progress last weekend and another full program of fixtures will entertain us in round seven.
The undefeated Lismore Workers should have little trouble continuing on their winning way when they host Italo Stars at Richards Oval in Lismore tomorrow night (Friday) at 8pm. Redmen's coach Scott Collis has a few changes forced upon him, with seasoned campaigner Clint Willoughby sidelined and strapping young goalie Simon Cleaver suspended.
Workers have good depth and the coach will remain confident that these hurdles are only minor and will not impede the team's momentum. Any talk of Stars testing Workers is ambitious but every game is a new 90 minutes and is decided on the pitch.
The unusual scheduling of a second Friday night premier game sees Ballina try to repel the might of Byron Bay at Saunders Oval. Watching Tom Ruhl in vintage form last Saturday and versatile Layton Barton having a brilliant running game, along with many fine players for the Rams, leads me to conclude that Byron will have too much power for the Seasiders. Both sides will be without a player through suspension but this will not hurt the Rams as much as Ballina, which has lost its goalie, Reid Brydon.
Casino continues to search for the first win of the season and meets Alstonville, whose losing percentage at the moment is equally dismal. Tough defender Jeremy Wraight will be missing for another few weeks after being suspended for a serious verbal offence against a match official recently.
Villa continues to show glimpses of quality from its young squad but points earned is an important gauge of success and the team has a need to develop players.
The traditional East Lismore derby between Lismore Thistles and Rovers should be another passionate contest, with the Blues' five goals in each game against Stars and Casino giving them a belief in their strike power. With goals being shared around, coach Paul Parmenter should be pleased with knowing that the Blues can still score, despite not having an out-and-out sharp shooter.
Rovers' heavy schedule of four games in two weeks has also been fruitful and they have an air of the "old Rovers" about them. Thistles will have their hands full.
Classy Luke McWaide is fitting in beautifully and has been one of Rovers' best this year.
Both Saturday games start at 3pm.
There is one Sunday game, with Goonellabah meeting Lennox Head at Weston Park in Goonellabah starting at 2.30pm. The final game in this round is on Tuesday night when Rovers play Casino RSM at Bill Harris Field at 8pm.
