Rumbalara's Defensive Challenge: Can They Hold Off Mulwala Without Steel?

Can Rumbelara's defense withstand the pressure without their star defender Tiarna Steel? This episode of Center Pass brings you an in-depth analysis of the upcoming netball clash between Rumbalara and Mulwala. We'll explore how Rumbalara's defense might cope with Steel’s absence and the personal hurdles faced by Jess Bamblett. Will players like Lani Atkinson and Ky Bamblett rise to the occasion? Plus, we dive into Mulwala’s offensive strengths, despite their uphill battle this season. Join us as we dissect every angle of this critical matchup.

We then shift gears to provide a comprehensive preview of the Murray League Finals. With Moama hosting the grand final, find out how the elimination, semifinal, and preliminary final rounds are shaping up. We'll examine the defensive gaps Mulwala faces without Lily Sharp, and analyze Rumbalara and Moama's strong standings in A-grade netball. The race for finals spots is tighter than ever, and we break down the intense competition among the third to fifth-ranked teams. Who will secure a coveted place in the final rounds? Stay tuned for our insights and predictions.

Finally, we present our bold predictions for the playoff scenarios in the coming weeks. Discover how teams like Rumblara, Moama, Tongala, Deni, and Finley might fare as the season comes to a thrilling conclusion. We forecast an electrifying "cracker weekend" with intense matches, particularly spotlighting the fierce battle between Finley and Tonny. Will Rumbalara advance to the grand final? Get ready for an action-packed episode filled with expert analysis, unexpected twists, and detailed predictions that set the stage for an unforgettable end to the netball season.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

hey everybody and welcome to center pass a podcast all about a man talking netball and following a netball side on their quest for a premiership this year in 2024. I'm your host, nuff said, and today we're going to cover one rumbler and Moela's game this weekend coming up, but also with the Murray League releasing their finals who's playing where, when and how. We're also going to have a look into the finals who expected to play, who isn't going to play and what the outcomes possibly could be. So again, welcome and let's get into it. So first off, we're going to preview the game on the weekend between Rumbelara and Moela.

Speaker 1: 0:52

Last week Rumbelara played Finlay. The score probably wasn't as big as an outcome than what most people probably thought. They probably thought because Rumbelow has been putting sides away pretty comfortably this year but I think they only won by 16 goals last week. A couple of things because of that. So Tiana Steele wasn't playing so very pinnacle in that defensive circle with Jess Bamblett, and obviously Jess Bamblett losing her mum two or three days before the weekend really didn't help. So yeah, having Tiana Steele not play and she's not playing again this week, so she's over in Adelaide having a bit of time off. So yeah, having her, which is, yeah, she's probably one of the the inform and elite goal defences in the league at the moment. So, having only half of the dynamic duo in that defensive end and, if you look at it, rumble are winning that defensive fight at the moment. So against they've restricted a lot of sides, so they're winning that and obviously their shooting prowess with Jesse Barnes and Soph it's just been phenomenal as well. So this week again, jess Bamblett has to, yeah, hold it all herself. Last week she had help by Lani and Nikoi. So Lani Atkinson and Nikoi Bamblett, so they did a good job. As I said, finlay probably shot a lot more goals than what they probably should have. Yeah, they're only filling defenders in that defensive circle. So when you have two players that work together, you know, tirelessly for 10, 11 weeks, maybe 12 weeks or whatever it is 13 weeks, yeah, when you take one of them away, it's sort of you know you have to other players sort of has to carry the load a bit, and it was obvious on last weekend with Jessie Bann she was starting to get a bit tired at the end. That was, you know, probably emotionally as well as physically, because, yeah, tiana Steele wasn't there Interesting. As I said, tiana Steele's not going to be there again this week, so they're going to have to, yeah, make, do and improvise again. And you know who plays in defence? I don't know. I mean, jessie Barnes plays defence. She knows how to play defence, but then you take away that shooting prowess, so maybe they'll go with Nakai and Lani again. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see the matchups that they have.

Speaker 1: 3:38

Moela, on the other hand, yeah, I think they've had a disappointing year and I think they'd agree that they did know they they did actually. Yeah, they were playing well. They played in the grand final last year against Tongala and they only lost by six goals. So, to to have the season that they've had, and I mean, yeah, I think they're sitting seventh on the ladder. So I think they're about a game or maybe two games behind Nathalia. I think they're about a game or maybe two games behind um Nathalia, I think. Who's sitting sixth? So it probably hasn't been um the season that Moela have probably wanted. Um, they probably thought they would have been able to kick on from last year and go that one step further. So, um, as I said, it probably is a bit of a um, a letdown and a disappointing season for them, but they have been scoring some. You know they've had some good wins, but I think their wins have pretty much been against sides below them. I really don't think in the last three or four weeks they've played or beaten a side above them. So if you look at their last three games, yeah, they played Cobram three weeks ago and it was 51-26 their favour. Now Cobram sitting second last on the ladder. So yeah, they are able to score.

Speaker 1: 5:00

But does that say a bit about Mo Whaler? I don't think so. They then turned around. Two weeks ago they played Finlay. Now, this is an interesting one. So Finlay, as I said, they were able to score freely against Rumballara only because Rumballara's defense was a bit depleted. But in this game Moiler only lost by five goals. So they only lost by five goals to Finlay. So when you look at that, it's a loss.

Speaker 1: 5:34

But you could take a lot of positives out of it being Malweiler and say, well, we can still match it with quality sides. And they shot 47 goals. So their ability to shoot goals is there. You know they let Finlay shoot 52. So maybe their defense is a little bit suspect. I'm not too sure. But as I said, yeah, the scoreline was 52 to 47. So you know, that to me says that they can match it and maybe they just need a little bit more polish. But, as I said, they were able to score 47 goals.

Speaker 1: 6:07

So that could be a worrying sign for Rambalara this weekend because, as I said, jess Bam was going to have to shoulder the load pretty much on her own and she'll have Larnie and Kai just to help her out. So that could be a bit of an issue for Rambalara this week in trying to curb Moela's shooting. And then last week they then turned around and who did they play? Last week they played, so they played Numerka and again they shot 62 goals. So their shooters are on song.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Yeah, and, as I said, this really could be a bit of a um it. It could be a bit of a worrying sign for um for rumballara this weekend. Um, as I said, they're sort of stretched with their um, with their defense, um, you know, chana chana still not playing. Um, jesse bamlet sort of have them to um shoulder the load by herself. So this could could be a really, really interesting game Now if Rumballara get a roll on with their midfield or their midcourt and then their shooting circle. I don't think Mo Whaler's defenders could probably defend Jesse Barnes and Soph. So these things are going to be really interesting. It's going to be an interesting game because, as I said, moela have been able to, you know, really really score freely and obviously they have got shooters that know how to score and yeah, rumble are short in that defensive end this weekend. So it's going to be a very interesting game.

Speaker 1: 7:49

Now, obviously, rumbelara beat my way the last time, but I mean, sides are learning as they play Rumbelara. They're starting to learn how to maybe curve things away. Yeah, like Finlay was the first time that they played Finlay last week and yeah, as I said, it was a 67-49 game, rambalara to Finlay. So yeah, they're able to let Finlay score 49 goals. So Rambalara's defense will be tested this weekend because obviously Moela can score freely as well. So they're really going to have to tighten up on that defensive end and they're not going to have that defensive pressure that Tiana Steele brings. So she brings a lot of defensive pressure and it sort of helps Jess Bamblett out and then they really know how to connect and talk and everything else. So it's really going to be a test for Rumbelara against Moela.

Speaker 1: 8:44

For Rumbelara against Malwala. As I said, malwala seem to know how to score. They've proven it over the last three weeks and I mean we can go back another week prior to that. So four weeks ago. Well, they played Baruga and they scored 64 goals against Baruga. And I mean I know Baruga's on the bottom of the ladder but you know you're still scoring freely and you're still scoring over. You know, over 50 goals they played. Who else did they play? So they played Kingutna. They scored 52.

Speaker 1: 9:20

So I think Rambalara's defensive end is going to. I don't think they'll struggle, but I think they'll get found out. Yeah, as I said, jess Bamford having to do it on her own and then Nikoi and Lani sort of helping her out. So I really, really think this could be a danger game for rumballara. Um, yeah, they're undefeated. Um, they'll be coming in pretty chuffed about what's going on. Um, you know finley had a few players out last week and I think one of their shooters was out. So you know this game, um, on saturday could be. It could be a really a test for Rambalara in their defensive end. They've got no hassles in their mid-court and they've got no hassles in their shooting. But this defensive end is really going to test Rambalara out this weekend.

Speaker 1: 10:20

I think Moela will push them. I think Moela will push them. I think, Moela, you know, what Rambalara has to be mindful of is they can't let Moela probably shoot no more than 25 goals, no more than 30 goals, because it's just, you know, if they can score freely and I know these sides that they've played are below them, but they've still got some very good defenders, yeah, and they've been able to even 49 goals or 47 goals in a losing game. That's still a lot of goals that they've shot. So it's going to be interesting with Moela how they can curb, or Rumbler, how they can curb Moela. You look at it, five weeks ago they played in the Thayer and only lost by one and they were still able to shoot 37 goals. So, yeah, I think Rumbler is going to have to be on song in their defensive end this weekend.

Speaker 1: 11:18

They haven't got that defensive pressure with Chan Steele and you sort of pretty much what you do is you. You unplug one hole to fill another hole, but it creates another hole, um, if you know what I mean. So they're pretty much. Yeah, they'll take lani out of wing defense and put her in the goal defense and then, yeah, you can put kai in wing defense, and then if lani's not having a very good day in goal defense, do you take her out, and then you put kai in goal defense, and then you put Madejka in wing defense and then you know how far do you go and you know Jess Bamley, she can't do it all on her own.

Speaker 1: 11:49

So this is going to be a very big test for Rumballara. I still think probably Rumballara will win, but I think a lot of people on Monday are going to be looking in the paper and looking at the scores and thinking Rumballara sort of dying off a bit, because I really don't think they're going to blow Moela out the water. I think it's going to be close because, as I said, there's been a few comments over the week about the Finlay-Rumballara score and how especially people from Kingutna that Rumballara beat them by 50-odd goals two weeks ago and then only beat Finlay by 16. Now Finlay's a quality side. Don't get me wrong. I'm not taking nothing away from Finlay, but they were able to score freely because they just didn't have that defensive pressure in their defensive circle.

Speaker 1: 12:37

Rumbelara they had girls that don't normally play goal defence play there to help Jessie Bamlett out. She was, as I said, she was buggered near the end of it. She was emotionally and physically knackered. How much of that can you withstand in another game? That continually coming down? What they need to really do is have their midcourt Rumbler's midcourt really put pressure on Moela so it's not continually coming down because you just have not got. You have not got that turnover or that intercept power that you have with Tiana Steele in that goal defence circle. You know she reads the ball well, she picks off the ball as it's coming down, She'll intercept, she compliments Jess and Jess compliments her in that circle. And you just haven't got that. And they proved it last week only 16 goals, and then this week Mulwala are able to score freely when they play other sides.

Speaker 1: 13:36

So it's going to be probably, as I said, I think Rumballara will win, but I don't think they'll win by much, I don't think they'll blow them away. And there'll be a few things asked on Monday as to what's going on with Rambalara. Um, as I said, tiana Seale won't be, won't be there, she'll be in Adelaide. So, um, hopefully, uh, next week they've got a Chuky United, so hopefully, uh, tiana Seale will be back, um, I'm not too sure.

Speaker 1: 13:59

So it'll be interesting to see, yeah, how Rumballara go through the rest of the year. Yeah, if they lose one of those defenders, those quality defenders I mean they're elite defenders Town of Steel and Jesse Bamblett they lose one of them and you sort of you wouldn't say see you later, premiership hopes, but it'll be very, very hard for Rumballara because they just haven't got that second tier quality, uh, uh, premiership hopes. But it'll be very, very hard for Rumble R because it's just gotten that they just haven't got that, that second tier quality to um. Step into that, into that defensive end and help them out. Um, as I said, you can turn around and you know um, you know unplug one hole to plug another hole and bring Jesse Barnes down in defense, but you just lose your um, you lose your shooting power and yeah. So it's going to be interesting next couple of weeks with um rumbelara. There's a few things going on. So, anyway, um.

Speaker 1: 14:55

So, yeah, I think I still think rumbelara will win um, or I think that they will probably. Um, they'll probably win, but they won't win comfortably. But, yeah, I'll give them maybe 20 goals, maybe 15 goals at the least. Maybe, yeah, I'd say I reckon 25. I reckon Rumbelara winning by 25 because, as much as Malwala has been on song in their shooting, I think they're still below a lot of other sides with what they do. So, yeah, it's going to be interesting though, though, how Rumbelara, yeah, curbed that shooting because, yeah, malwala obviously in the last couple of weeks have found something in their shooters and Rumbelara are a little bit struggling in their defensive end, sort of last week and this week. So, for me, I think Rumbelara by 25 goals, but it's not going to be a blowout, and I don't think Rumbelara's going to have it all their way. So at the end of Saturday, they will be still undefeated and, unfortunately, moela, they will still be. Let's have a look at the ladder yeah, so they will be seventh. I mean, they're a long way in front of Cobram. Yeah, so, unfortunately, whaler will still be seventh, and I don't think I really don't think they'll make finals this year, which is unfortunate for them.

Speaker 1: 16:34

And, as I said, they're probably thinking that they could have had a better year than what they did. And I mean, you know I've just finished talking about, you know, rambalara, and how you, you know, one player in defense can turn around and sort of halt uh things. And you know, my whale was the same. They had lily sharp playing for him last year and she was just an absolute superstar. And, um, yeah, she went to finley and she's sort of a fly in, fly out with finley because she lives in um in gold coast or in Queensland. So my way I've lost that defensive edge. But they've obviously found yeah, they've found some shooters. I think they've still got their old shooters. So it was just a yeah, they sort of worked it out. It was the wrong time of the year, though for them. They lost a few games that they probably shouldn't have in the start of the year. So, yeah, unfortunately, being grand finalists last year, I don't think they'll be playing finals this year. And that gets me into the finals this year because, as I said, in the last 24 or 48 hours, the Murray League have turned around and put out who is going to be playing and where. So it's going to be interesting Again.

Speaker 1: 17:51

You've got Moema holding the grand final, and so they should. Moema's ground is absolutely perfect. It is a sensational ground. It's well done. Their ground is well done. It's an elite ground. The viewing is great.

Speaker 1: 18:12

The netball side of things. Yeah, probably the netball side of things. They can do with a few more grandstand chairs and all that sort of jazz, but I mean, at the end of the day it's very, very good what they've done with that club. The football side of things yeah, the ground is spectacular. I would say I'm going to put it out there. I would say as nearly as good, if not better, than Deakin the Moama footy ground. So they're well-deserved. They played the grand final there last year and it was a cracking day. The sun was out, excuse me, big crowds, but yeah, it was a cracking day last year and I think they'll get it again this year. So we'll go through it.

Speaker 1: 18:57

So the 31st of August will be your first elimination final, so three versus six at Moela. Then your second elimination final, which was on Sunday that Sunday is fourth versus fifth which is at Tongala. Saturday, the 7th of September. Second semifinal one versus two, and we'll get into that in a minute with the netball, because it is going to be yeah, it's going to be a cracking game. The first semifinal will be at at finley, which is on sunday, the 8th of september, and then saturday, the 14th of september, the prelim final at baruga and then the grand final on the 21st of september at moama.

Speaker 1: 19:40

So when we go into that and we start to look at who may be playing finals in the A-grade netball for Murray League this year, the way it's standing at the moment obviously Rumbler, I can't see them losing top position. It's going to be very hard for them to lose top position. I mean, they're two games in front of everyone else. Now they have got a bit of a tough draw. So they've got Achuki United, then they've got Denny. So after this weekend against Moela, they've got Achuki United. So you would definitely pencil that in. Then they've got Denny, then they've got Tony and then they've got Moema. So you know, even if they lost against Tony and Moema, their percentage is just, yeah, it's just phenomenal. Yeah, they're sitting at 200% at the moment. So when you look at percentage, they're 32% in front of Moema. So for them, if they lose those two games, they're going to have to lose them by a shit ton and Moema's going to have to win games by a shit ton to gain that 32%. So I don't think Rumbelara will lose top spot. I don't think Moema will lose second, because they're what are they? Well, they're three games. They're three games ahead of Tonga, so that's another surprise packet.

Speaker 1: 21:11

So we talked about Malwala dropping out of finals this year, which they will, because I mean at the moment, well, they're only one game actually. You know what? They're only one game behind behind Nathalia. So we might delve into that in a minute. Um, because that could be interesting, that there could be very, very interesting. And then, looking at, um, yeah, you're looking at three to five. They're all sitting on 36 points. So we're gonna look at all the games coming up and the possibilities.

Speaker 1: 21:44

But you would definitely turn around and say that Rumblara and Moema will have the first week off, and then Tongala's third, denny's fourth and Finlay is fifth. Those three are sitting on 36 points. So the way the finals were was yeah, three plays six. So if that's the case, and if it was at the moment, if it was three plays six, tongala would play Nathalia and Denny would play Finlay and then we'd go from there. But, as I said, you're looking at three sides that are sitting on 36. So if we go into the draws and we go back to this week yeah, denny plays Moama, so Denny's not going to get any. They're not going to win. Moama will win that Finlay.

Speaker 1: 22:43

Who does Finlay play? Finlay play Arbruga they're going to win that definite. And then Tongayla playing Ymirka, so they're going to win that definite. So you're looking at probably Tony, finlay and at the moment then Denny. So Denny will be one game behind Tony and Finlay. So those two, it looks like those two, will be fighting for third. So when you go into next week, tongala plays Beruga Tony ain't going to lose that, they're not going to lose against Beruga. Finlay plays Congutna they're not going to lose against Congutna. And Danny plays Cobham. So Danny will still be stuck one game behind and Finlay and Tongala will be fighting for third. So obviously Tony will probably be third, finlay will be fourth, but sitting on the same point. So it all comes down to now how they go, how much they win by, and I'll go back to the latter in a minute to see what their percentage is.

Speaker 1: 23:44

So then round 16 comes up and Tongala got Moela. As I said, moela, I don't think will play finals. So there's another win to Tony. So they'll be keeping third by the looks of that. And then Finlay plays a cheeky United. So they'll be keeping fourth, but they'll be on the same points. Obviously, rumbelara plays Denny, so you'd be thinking that Rumbelara will beat Denny, so Denny would drop down even further. Then that brings Nathaya into it. Yeah, this bottom half of this ladder is going to be absolutely yeah, and then Nathaya could drop up. Yeah, nathaya could pick up from being sixth up to fifth. Denny could drop down to fifth, like the final six is made, but that bottom part of that final six is not made.

Speaker 1: 24:38

So then round 17,. This is going to be and we'll get into this later on but you have got Finlay plays Cobram, so Finlay's going to win that. Yeah, 100% Finlay will win that. Nathalia play Moalas, and Nathalia will win that. Denny have got Tony. So I really think, by the looks of that, nathalia will leapfrog Denny and Denny will go to sixth, which means Tony will play Denny.

Speaker 1: 25:08

So this round 17 and this is ironic, this is very, very ironic round and I will, I will, I will go through it now. So if the games continue well, we'll go back to round 17 in a minute. So if we go to round 18, you've got Rumba plays Tony, so you'd think that Rumba would beat that. Tony's probably going to come out firing, but you'd think Rumba would beat that. So they're going to stay on the same points Tongala, but Finlay playing Athaya. Now these two are going to be on the same points till this game. So Finlay have got an opportunity to go to third and then Tony will go drop down to fourth. Moama won't lose against New America. So you're pretty much the final round will be the determination of where Finlay and Tony go, I think, because I think Finlay will go third, which I really think that they will play.

Speaker 1: 26:15

Fifth, which I really think will be Nathalia, because I'll leapfrog Denny and Tony will play Denny, because I think Tony will get down to fourth. So if you look at the ladder, as I said, you look at the ladder like Tony, and so Tony, denny and Finlay are all on level points, but Denny will lose a few games, which means they'll drop. But then, as I said, you've got Nathalia. Nathalia's only one game behind. So if Nathalia wins and Denny loses, they go on the same points. Yeah, moela's only one game behind, but I really don't think the way it's going at, moela will make finals. I don't think they've got the games coming up that they're winnable to win, to get into the finals, because Nathalia will continually win, finlay will continually win. So, really, when you look at, I think this is my prediction and we'll go back on. We'll relive this after the final round.

Speaker 1: 27:18

But my prediction will be Rumble R will sit on top, moama will sit second, finlay will sit third, tony will sit fourth, nathalia will sit fifth and Danny will sit second. Finlay will sit third, tony will sit fourth, nathalia will sit fifth and Danny will sit sixth. That is my prediction for the ladder at the end of the home and away season, which will be what's that? Four weeks' time, four weeks' time. So this is where the games are going to be crackers.

Speaker 1: 27:45

So Finlay, as I said, I think Finlay will be third and Nathalia will be third, tony will be fourth, nathalia will be fifth and Danny will be sixth. So I really think Finlay and Nathalia will play and Tony and Danny will play. That is your first week of finals. So Finlay will play Nathalia, which, if we look at the finals, where it's going to be, so three plays six. So Finlay will play Nathalia at Moela, first elimination, final and interesting fourth place, whoa, hang on. No, finlay will play Denny.

Speaker 1: 28:32

Sorry, finlay will play Denny at Moela and Tony will play Nathalia at Tony home game. They'll get a home game, which is, you know, unfortunate. So that that is my prediction. So, um, yeah, finlay will play Deniliquin mawaila, first elimination final on the 31st of august and tony will play nathalia on sunday, the 1st of september in the second elimination final at tony. So they'll get a home game. So tongala will get a home game. So you would think that tony uh would win and you think that finley would win.

Speaker 1: 29:15

So, if that's the case, the following week, first semi-final in finley. So finley get a home game now in finley. It will be finley versus tony on sunday, the 8th september. They are my finals prediction, so we'll go back on it. So, three versus six, Finlay, I really think we'll get the third. Finlay will play Denny and Tony will play Nathalia. Finlay will beat Denny at Moela, tony being home game. And yeah, they've got a bit of pride going into them, tony, because they're obviously, you know, reigning premiers. They'll beat Nathalia. So then the following week, first semifinal, they get into a prelim. It'll be Finlay versus Tony at Finlay. So Finlay will get a home game in their netball.

Speaker 1: 30:21

But but the biggest game, and you could say round 17 of 2024 murray league, a grade netball, round 17 will be a preview, I think. Well, it definitely will be a preview for the second semi-final and I think it'll be a preview for the grand final this year. So round 17, if you remember round 17,. Rumballara plays Moama. So second semifinal at Rumballara. So Rumballara's home game. Second semifinal one versus two. That'll be Rumballara. So Rumballara's home game. Second semifinal one versus two. That'll be Rumballara versus Moema. So round 17 is going to be an absolute cracker. And second semifinal they'll revisit each other. That's going to be amazing because they've already played each other once this year. They're going to be playing each other again twice in round 17. And then they'll come up against each other again.

Speaker 1: 31:19

Second semifinal at Rumballara on Saturday, the 7th of September. They will play each other again. Rumba will play Moama one versus two, either either whether Moama get on top or whether Rumbulara stays on top, they will be playing each other. Now, as I said, this is just my prediction. So Sunday, 8th of September, finlay will play Tony in the first semifinal.

Speaker 1: 31:52

Now that weekend you might as well say it's cracker weekend. You have got four sides that are going to absolutely have yeah, they're going to go hammer and tong at each other and it's called cracker weekend. I'm calling it the cracker weekend. So, as I said, your second semfinal is rumbler versus moema. Your first semi-final will be finley versus tongala. Now, as I said, tongala will be coming out strong. They will want to win against finley, um, to try and get into another grand final. You know they're the reigning premiers. They're going to try and get into another grand final.

Speaker 1: 32:31

Finlay, you know, relinquished. Yeah, they were sitting on the bottom of the ladder last year, near the bottom of the ladder. They were losing games and they were getting absolutely smashed. Finlay will have something to prove as well. So these two games on that weekend of the weekend of the 7th of September and the 8th of September, mate, if you want to watch great netball and you want to go to Rumballara and then you want to drive to Finlay, mate, you are going to see two absolutely cracking games.

Speaker 1: 33:03

So the results after them is going to be very interesting. I will say Rumballara will beat Moema. That is just me. The Finlay-Tonny game, holy hell, you could throw a blanket over it. I will say Finlay will beat Tonny and I reckon it'll only be by about three or four goals. Finlay will beat Tonny. Rumballara will beat Moema by about three or four goals. Finlay will beat Tony. Rumballara will beat Moama by about six or seven goals.

Speaker 1: 33:38

Rumballara will go straight into the grand final 2024, straight into the grand final for Rumballara. Finlay will beat Tony. Tony will get bundled out, a bit like Denny the year before, a bit like Denny the year before. So Tongala will get bundled out. Finlay will then play Moama at Peruga prelim on Saturday the 14th, and I will go back over this podcast later to see whether my predictions are right. So, as I said, finlay first round, first round of finals, first elimination Finlay plays Denny. Finlay beat him. Second elimination final Tony versus Nathalia. Tony will beat Nathalia. So then, second semi-final Rumbelara plays Moama at Rumbelara Banking game. Rumbelara will beat them by about eight goals. Finlay will play Tongala at Finlay and Finlay will win by about three goals. Rumbelara goes straight into the grand final.

Speaker 1: 34:47

The prelim final at Baruga on Saturday the 14th will be Moema versus Finlay and that is going to be a cracker game, but I really think Moema will have too much talent. I mean in saying that whether Finlay gets all their players back, because apparently they had a couple of players out last week, and if Lily Sharp plays, I will put my money on finley if lily sharp comes back from queensland and she plays, I will put all my money on finley to beat moama and then it'll be a cracking game grand final. So two scenarios if lily sharp doesn't play for finley against moama in a prelim final because that's the way it's going to go, I'm 100% sure of that If she doesn't play, moema will beat them. If she does play, I think Finlay will beat Moema. So if she doesn't play, moema will win and mate. It'll be an absolute cracking game at Moema Rumbler versus Moema grand final. The nerves you could just imagine the nerves. Now, if everything goes smoothly for Rumble R and they get Tiana Steele back and everything else, yeah, it is going to be a cracking game. And if that's the case, I would say I would definitely say Rumballara by yeah, maybe eight, nine goals. It will be very, very, very, very, very close.

Speaker 1: 36:22

Now, this is, as I said, is if Tiana Steele comes back, yeah. Now if Lily Sharp plays, I really think Finlay will beat Moama and if that's the case, it'll be another cracking game. It'll be Rumbelara versus Finlay. And it'll be interesting to see and I didn't get to see it on the weekend, I didn't get to see Lily Sharp play for Finlay against Jess Barnes and Soph, but if she comes down from Queensland and she plays, that'll be a ding-dong battle between her and Jessie Barnes, because she plays a goal defence and Jessie Barnes plays goal attack. So they are my prediction for finals. Yeah, this final series this year is going to be an absolute cracker.

Speaker 1: 37:10

As I said, though, rumble are going to get over my wailer on the weekend. Um, without tiana steel. So, as I said, she's in adelaide, uh, taking a bit of a bit of a break. Um, so she won't be playing. So the the onus will be beyond jess bamblett to, you know, try and get the best out of the uh, the other two or whoever's going to play with her in goal defence.

Speaker 1: 37:35

And, as I said, it's very hard to keep that momentum going when you play with someone. For 11, 12, 13 weeks, you train with each other and then, all of a sudden, it's sort of cut out and you're like, well, what do I do now? And Jesse Bamblett sort of found that out last week. And you're like, well, what do I do now? And Jesse Bamblett sort of found that out last week. It was just so, yeah, it was just probably fortunate for them that I guess Finlay didn't have their shoe to play. So yeah, it probably would have been a little bit closer.

Speaker 1: 38:07

Obviously, rumblar wasn't dominant in that shooting either. So that was yeah, and they've been up, you know, all year. So you're going to have your slow days, and I always remembered footy coaches just always turn around and say that one win is one win closer to a loss. So yeah, they've gone undefeated so far. Can they keep that momentum? Can they keep that pressure? Can they keep that enthusiasm? Can Rumbelara do that? I don't know. They've got some tough games coming up. They're missing Tiana Steele at the moment and if they continue to miss her, well, I really think that they'll struggle, and that's just my personal opinion. But hopefully she's back next week and that just collectively puts that side at ease.

Speaker 1: 38:57

But first off, they've got to get over Moela this week and then, as I said, I've given you my finals predictions, my ladder predictions. As I said, it'll be Finlay plays Danny, it'll be Tongayla plays Nathalia, it'll be Moema plays Rambalara, it'll be Tongala plays in the Thalia, the Moama plays Rambalara, it'll be Finlay plays Tony, and then it'll be Moama plays Finlay, and then whoever plays Rambalara in the grand final. That is my final predictions. As I said, the Murray League have brought out their grounds and their fixtures for the finals in the last 48 hours and again I congratulate Moama on getting a grand final because their ground is absolutely superb, probably the best ground, one of the best country grounds that I've been to. That's got everything. Yeah, like their facilities are next to none and that's a very well-run football netball club. So congratulations to Moama again for getting this year's Murray League grand final. It's going to be a cracking day. It's going to be cracking games all over the place, but anyway, that is me. Enough said I'm out again. As I said, I'm just a man that talks netball. I know a little bit about it, but not a lot, and I get crucified for it. But hey, that is, it's my views, my views, my thoughts. But, as I said, that is my review of the Rumballara Moela game, also my review on finals. I'll go back through it because the latter in the next couple of weeks is probably going to change Because, as I said, you've got three sides that are sitting on 36 points and, yeah, they're playing easy.

Speaker 1: 40:36

Some of them are playing easy sides and some of them are playing hard. So this ladder from third down to sixth. Again, I don't think, moela. I mean, you know having a bid. If Moela beats Rambalara this week, well that could you know. That could catapult them to nearly. You'd probably say they could make the six, but I really don't think so. So I think Moela have missed out this year, which is unfortunate for them. Again, they probably thought they were going to have a better year than what they had, so that's unfortunate for them. But I think from third down to six, it's just going to change.

Speaker 1: 41:14

It'll be, uh, all over the shop for the next four rounds, five rounds and then, uh, australia into finals and I think the final series in the mo league, a grade netball, is going to be absolutely spanking this year. It's going to be probably one of the best final series out and I'll preview the whole lot, all the games, um, we'll go through the whole thing, whole kit and caboodle. But anyway, that is me and I've said I'm out. Thank you for listening. Enjoy your weekend. Uh, rumbler, this is my wayla gonna be a great game, um, but yeah, have a great weekend, have a safe weekend and I'll be back on next week. I'm out, bye.