Adelaide Footy League: Focus on Furniture Div 2 Round 11 preview

OLD Ignatians are now a sneaky chance to play finals football after upsetting the flag favourite Henley last week.

Thomas Evans (Pembroke) kicks the ball during the first quarter against Henley earlier in the year. Picture: Stephen Laffer

OLD Ignatians are now a sneaky chance to play finals football after upsetting the flag favourite Henley last week.

The surprising 34-point result has positioned the Old Iggies just two wins outside the top five but, more importantly, cleared them from the relegation contest at lower end of the Focus on Furniture division two ladder.

A commanding second quarter performance from the former college boys (kicking 6.8 to the Sharks’ 2.2) gave the home side impetus to build further after the main break.

They increased their stranglehold on the match by even keeping their opponent goalless in the third quarter when the visitors could only manage an inaccurate seven points.

Jarrad Wright talks to his Henley players at quarter time. Picture: Stephen Laffer

Belief should now be high among Jackson Jurisevic (six goals), Dylan McNeil, Jared Centenera and Ed Shaw and it will need to be as they meet fourth-placed Sacred Heart OC on the neutral confines of Aldi Arena (Thebarton Oval) this week.

A similar outcome on Saturday would bring Old Ignatians’ to within one win of fifth spot which would really heat up the run towards the finals.

However, any drop-off in intensity would mean last week’s efforts were futile.

Matthew Delmenico, Sean Kean, Rupert Peake and Daniel Flavel, who lead SHOC to a forthright 86-point triumph over Broadview, are unlikely to take Old Iggies lightly either after they knocked off the top side last week.

The previously unbeaten Henley was caught napping last week, vulnerable to a loss especially to an unexpected opposition, but players are sure to be set straight for their next hitout against a tricky Unley Mercedes Jets back home.

The Jets on their day could hand the Sharks a second consecutive loss.

The Jets showed that last week, seemingly having PHOS Camden’s measure for a lot of the afternoon, but couldn’t hold off the second-placed outfit in the final moments, going down by just five points in a seesawing clash.

The Phantoms continue to be in a tough battle to retain their current ladder position with Athelstone hot on their heels, simply waiting on them to falter.

Mark Ruwoldt, Ryan Reavley, Daniel Hill and Dean Bonnici will again be out to ensure that does not occur this week against Scotch OC, which stayed in demotion contention after a nonresistant 55-point loss to Gaza.

The Eagles and the Raggies come together on Saturday for a defining encounter that will have serious implications on ladder spots.

With Gaza hoping to remain in the top five and Athelstone looking to keep the pressure on PHOS Camden, this is definitely going to be a fiercely-fought duel.

Eagles’ Kosta Papachristos, Matthew Clark, Chris Radetti and Brayden Lauder are capable of taking the fight up to Kyle Durdin, Christian Elliott, Justin Sheedy and Jack Mozuras.

In a bottom-of- the-table clash this week, Pembroke OS, which almost caused another upset last week after being 17 points ahead of the Raggies at halftime before being run over, particularly in the last quarter, to lose by a respectable 26 points, hosts the Tigers.