Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners

As we reach round 3 of the new A-League season it's a little too early to say that the season is starting to take shape, but there are certainly trends coming through and none more intriguing than the match up presenting itself at Bluetounge Stadium in Gosford on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams go into the match undefeated with Sydney getting 2 wins in their first 2 matches and The Mariners riding their luck for a win in Melbourne and finishing the F3 derby with a draw.
The Mariners have long been known as a team of grafters that work hard for their results and each other, but they have never been a team that was particularly flashy. Sydney FC (v5) have been talking about playing a European style slick passing game and while they have yet to perfect it, they have shown signs of playing a more expansive game than some past seasons.
In fact, the 2 teams couldn't be more opposed if they tried!
This weekend's fixture is a match up that takes on more than the 3 points. It's a clash of cultures and a lot will be hung on the result.
Essentially, this all rests on the 2 coach's shoulders.
Lawrie McKinna is a Scotsman who has been plying his trade as a player or manager here in Australia since 1987 who has only ever managed football teams in Australia and loves the grind of football and will take a win at any cost. His best asset as a coach is that his players want to win for him. It's this attitude that turns potential losses into draws, and potential draws into wins and it is this with mentality that the Mariners manage to get themselves into finals contention in spite of what their team looks like on paper. Once again, they have not been predicted to go far this year and have been going about their business with very little fuss and find themselves heading into this weekend in 3rd position.
Vítězslav Lavička is from the Czech Republic and has made his name as a coach of the year in the Czech league and coaching in the illustrious European Champions League. He has brought his Philosophy to Sydney and is trying to mould his players into short precise passing machines. He isn't just happy with a win, he wants the craft to be mastered. The performance is just as important as the result. He has gained the respect of the Sydney players with his professionalism and the players really seem to listen to him. To get the names currently in the Sydney line up to listen and perform has been too much for many managers in the past, so it is nothing to be sneezed at that Lavička appears to have done this.
Both teams are capable of winning this match depending on who can perform to their best.
So the game on the weekend becomes a game of tactics and while it won't decide the title fight of Local coaches v European coaches (in spite of what either Michael Cockerill or Craig Foster will tell you depending on who wins) it will throw a strong haymaker in the first round.

NRL Final Eight

The NRL is only 4 rounds from finishing for this year and it's time for me to make a quick prediction on who will make the top 8 and who will miss out.
1st - Dragons - Put simply they won't be caught for the minor premiership. They'd have to lose a couple and the Dogs would have to go undefeated for the final 4 weeks. Neither is likely to happen
2nd - Bulldogs - They seem to be a little out of sorts just at the moment, but they are the Bulldogs. They will come back in time for the finals, and that means they'll get some wins to finish off the season.
3rd - Storm - They have a good run home and are likely to sneak ahead of the Titans if the Titans falter. Which is possible!
4th - Titans - The top 4 is fairly solid and the gap between 4th and 5th is likely to be around 6 points! The Titans are safe in the top 4, but look for them to hit a slight hurdle at some point, there will still be a lot of nerves given their history of choking in the second half of the season
5th - Cowboys - Another team with not too bad of a run home. They'll play themselves into form against some lesser teams which will hold them in good stead for the finals
6th - Eels - They are in brilliant form but the first half of their season means that one slip up and they could end up in 9th. They have a game against the Tigers in a couple of weeks. The winner of that game finishes 6th. The loser finishes 9th. It's that simple.
7th - Rabbitohs - They have a good points differential which may be the difference at the end and they play the Sharks in the final round which will be a big help. They need to win against the Titans or the Dragons to finish here. It won't be the Dragons, but it could be the Titans in Sydney on Friday night.
8th - Panthers - They are a better side than 8th position seems, but they come up against the red hot Bunnies and white hot Eels in the coming weeks so may be forced into a scrap for the final spot.

As mentioned before if the Tigers can beat the Eels in a few weeks, they take 6th spot and the Eels end up here. The Eagles are sliding and even Brett Stewart's return in the coming weeks won't be enough. The Knights and Broncos will be lucky to win one more game this season and will have a lot of work to do to next season.

Feel free to disagree, but that my prediction and I'm sticking with it...For now