Dolphins to take on Caboolture

Spencer Walmsley takes off against Maroochydore – he has been a force to be reckoned with this season.

Contributed

This weekend, the Dolphins travel to Caboolture in Reserve Grade and A Grade, while the women’s team, the Phinettes, play at Noosa at 5pm.

In the way the rounds work out for the Colts, they will again face Maroochydore, but this time on Maroochydore home turf.

The last time the reserve grade team met Caboolture, they were confronted with a very young, fit side whose performance belied the final score by running with the Dolphins for the first half of the game.

The Michael Phelan coached team will be conscious of sticking to its own game plan and will be looking to the likes of Jason Melville and Chris Robinson to lead the pack up front with support from rising star Keith Strajnar.

It has been noted on many occasions that the success of the side this year has been the ideal blend of youth and experience, with Dan Burridge, Rohan Ramsden and Jason McDowell all able to steady the ship when under attack and the young players ready to apply the pace.

Ramsden’s defence, in particular, has been outstanding throughout the season.

When the A Grade kicks off at 3.15pm, there is a lot riding on the game for Caboolture, and Noosa will need to be wary of complacency after last week’s outstanding victory against the Maroochydore Swans.

The Caboolture team has been touted as genuine premiership contenders, if they can force their way into the four.

While this is mathematically possible, it really comes down to whether or not they can win against the top team in this weekend’s clash.

Noosa, on the other hand, is very close to locking away the club championship, which carries the prize of a home grand final.

The Dolphins this weekend will be without the services of Gary McNeil, and the front row will be steadied by the experience of Andy Green and Tom Kearney.

Opposing them will be Clayton Hunter and Adam Emerson, who have both proven their worth as a solid front row pairing for the latter part of this season.

The Noosa loose forward trio will be confronted with Blaine Heath, Bradley Laurie and Matthew Smith, who are youthful and quick.

Walmsley, Colvin and Simpson have been forces to be reckoned with all season and all performed well in the big Maroochydore clash last weekend.

They will need to be on their game, as will the entire forward pack, to ensure the Noosa backs are fed plenty of ball.

Evidently, the real strength of Caboolture in recent weeks is the pace they have out wide, with tries scored regularly by winger Taine Keel, and fullback Jay Forrester running in tries week after week.

Similarly, Caboolture’s, Thomas Aldridge is no slouch and is a very reliable kicker.

Opposing the Caboolture back line is the tremendous trio of Beakey, Harrold and Massoud, who have been controlling the game in recent weeks.

Chris Massoud, in particular, has battled through injury so he can offer his younger counterparts all of the support possible, and the three have proven to be a winning combination throughout the season.

A player who has really stepped up to the plate for Noosa this year is Luke Aglio, using his speed to score many a try in great winger’s fashion.

When coupled with revitalised Matt “Devil” Forrest and young Dianni, Noosa also has pace out wide.

The result of the game will hinge upon how much ball the forwards are able to give the talented Noosa back line that has been able to punish sides this year by capitalising on their opportunities.

Once past this weekend, the run into the finals begins in earnest when Noosa hosts Fraser Coast next week before meeting the currently fourth-placed Caloundra team at its home ground at Lighthouse Park the following week.

While Caloundra is locked in battle for fourth position with Caboolture, the team also prides itself on being able to put up a genuine challenge to the competition leaders.

They have always been pretty keen to have a crack at Noosa on their home turf and this forthcoming game should be no different.

The final game in the premiership rounds for the season sees the Dolphins return home to take on Gympie, who have been playing a much better standard of football this year than in the previous few seasons.

In fact, Gympie is currently sitting in sixth position, leading both Fraser Coast and Nambour on the table, and the results of the past few weeks prove that the team is capable of an upset.

The primary concern for the last week of minor round competition will be whether or not the Gympie Reserve Grade side travels to Noosa as the Phelan-coached team will be looking for a good hit out before the finals.

In other games this weekend, Nambour will be trying to retain some pride by taking on the Gympie team at home, but this will be a tough encounter for them.

University should easily deal with Fraser Coast up in Hervey Bay, and they won’t want to give Maroochydore any chance at slipping into second place.

The final four clash between Maroochydore and Caloundra is important to both teams, although Maroochydore now has only a small chance of finishing in second position, and Caloundra is still at risk in fourth.