By Liam Emerton
It will be the battle of the two top sides in the men’s AFL Capricornia when the last duo of undefeated teams meet face-to-face.
And what makes this game even juicier is that it will be a 2022 grand final rematch.
This weekend Swan Park gets the battle of the Yeppoon Swans and the Boyne Island Tannum Sands Saints.
Both Yeppoon and BITS have gone through the rest of the competition unscathed with the Saints only dropping points in a draw to the Rockhampton Panthers in round two.
On the weekend both sides flexed their muscle with the Swans knocking over the Panthers 15.15 (105) – 3.6 (24) at the RCG.
Typical contributors Christian Burgess and Josh McKee kicked six and four goals respectively in that 81 points victory.
That win kept the Yeppoon lads at the top of the table where they will stay providing they do not falter against the Saints on Saturday.
BITS took down their 2022 preliminary final opponents, the Glenmore Bulls, on the weekend with an 8.5 (53) – 4.7 (31) victory which will boost their confidence levels.
It was the Saints in the 2022 GF that came within just minutes of defeating the Swans and breaking their unbelievable winning streak.
That may play into both team’s mentality this weekend with the BITS crew using that game as a tool for belief while the Yeppoon team will be eager to make a massive statement.
If the Swans do win they would have knocked off each team in the AFL Capricornia competition across the first five rounds, something they have done in the past nine seasons.
In other round five matches the Glenmore Bulls and the Brothers Kangaroos will try to bounce back after fourth round losses.
The Bulls fell to the Saints as previously mentioned while the Kangaroos were knocked off by the Gladstone Suns.
Brothers had their chances but too many behinds would end up costing them a 9.4 (58) – 7.11 (53) home loss to the Suns.
It was particularly the opening stanza that would come back to bite the Brothers, scoring five behinds without kicking a single goal.
They will need to start better this weekend when they take on a Glenmore side eager to improve their position on the table.
And in the final game of the round the Suns put their form to the test against the Panthers.
After the Suns’ win, the Rockhampton squad are now the only winless team in the division and are anchored to the bottom of the table.
However a win over the Gladstone team would leapfrog them into at least fifth with a potential of obtaining a top four position a real possibility.
In the senior women’s AFL Capricornia competition the Rockhampton Panthers got the better of the Yeppoon Swans in their top of the table clash.
Panthers won 3.6 (24) – 2.2 (14) to continue their undefeated streak and put them as the outright leaders of the competition.
This week the Rockhampton squad will take on the third-placed Gladstone Suns who have won two games this season.
The Suns are coming off the back of a 4.7 (31) – 2.2 (14) loss to the Kangaroos and will be aiming to cause a boilover.
Brothers will now face off against the Glenmore Bulls who are also on the same competition points.
They picked up their first win over the Saints in round four, winning 3.8 (26) – 0.3 (3).
And finally the Swans will get the chance to restart their winning streak when they take on the Saints at Swan Park.