THE South West District Football Netball League finals continue with semi-final weekend.

In netball, Tyrendarra and Dartmoor will meet at Dartmoor today in the second semi-final with many pundits looking at the clash as a possible South West District Football Netball League A grade grand final preview.

These teams have met three times this season with the Giants holding two games to one record over the Darras, but the last meeting was only two weeks ago in round 16 when Dartmoor pipped their hosts by a single goal in a titanic struggle.

Strangely, each team posted their defeats of the opposition at away games and if one uses that logic, Tyrendarra will be favoured as the game is at Dartmoor.

Of course, each match is a separate entity with the winner advancing to the season decider, while the loser must win the preliminary final next week to gain a place in the big dance.

Dartmoor’s Chloe Finnigan is fresh of winning the league’s A grade best and fairest and will be pivotal in defence for the Giants.

Each coach will have learnt much about the opposition over the course of the season and will take this knowledge into today’s game.

“We gained valuable insight from our last match and Dartmoor has a strong line-up and we know we need to be at our  best to win, so we are excited for the challenge,” Tyrendarra coach, Rani Kane said.

“They’re hungry for finals success, so we know we need to bring our A game from the get-go.”

“They are a tall and well-skilled group of girls, and we took a lot out of the last game; coming back from so far behind is one thing,” Dartmoor coach, Elise Haw said.

“Looking at our stats, we also have other areas we need to work on too.

“We definitely know today’s game is going to be tough with every quarter being important.

“The Dartmoor girls have taken the last win as a bit of a confidence boost heading onto finals , knowing we can do it gives us more drive, but we also know Tyrendarra is going to be just as hungry and ready prove why they finished in the top spot.”

Westerns v Cavendish

CAVENDISH get the luxury of playing the first semi-final on its home court, facing off against Westerns.

Cavendish coach and goal attack, Marni Luhrs is coming off an A grade best and fairest runner-up award, but will need to put that aside to ensure she can get her team over the line in search of a win this afternoon.

Westerns battled hard against Dartmoor last week, but going into the game without a full-strength team hurt the Roos and the side was well beaten.

The Roos are favoured to take this encounter, but if they should again be less than full strength, then the Bloods will pounce as they have a full squad to choose from.

“We’ll have to slow down their ball speed into their goalies this weekend, as last time we played we made it far too easy for them to deliver the ball into Jemma Nelson at goal shooter,” Luhrs said.

In football, there is a place in the SWDFNL Grand Final on offer when minor premier, Coleraine, meets Cavendish at Dartmoor Oval in the second semi-final today.

The winner of the game will advance straight to the big dance and gain a week off, while the loser will play in next week’s preliminary final against the winner of the first semi-final.

The last time these two teams met was back in round 10, which was the first round after the break for the Queen’s Birthday, and the Maroons went in as unbackable favourites after winning their first nine rounds, but the Bloods caused a huge upset with an eight-point victory.

That loss sent the Maroons into a tailspin they struggled to come out of, as they went on to lose three of the last seven rounds of the season, all to teams that are finals bound.

Coleraine earned a week’s rest by finishing on top of the ladder thanks to a percentage-boosting victory that took the Maroons back to the top rung in the final round.

Cavendish is arguably the form team of the competition, winning 10 of the last 11 rounds plus a dominant victory in the first week of finals against Dartmoor.

Bloods forward, Sam Gibson, claimed the SWDFNL best and fairest on Monday night for his efforts all season and the Bloods supporters will be looking for him to again display this form today.

Considering that Cavendish took the field last weekend with at least seven players from their best 21 missing, it bodes well for the club when these players return.

That’s not to say that Dartmoor were at full strength either, as the Giants were missing top players of their own too, but the Bloods must be buoyed by their performance and the depth within their ranks.

Coleraine will be keen to reverse that last meeting result today against the Bloods, with the entire senior squad attending Silvester Oval last Saturday to watch the Cavendish and Dartmoor teams up close in preparation for today’s encounter.

“Throughout the year, Coleraine has played some good footy and given the especially strong start to its season, it deserved to finish on top,” Cavendish coach, Clinton Thomas said.

 “While they haven't played a top four team in the last month, they do come in as a little bit of an unknown, but nonetheless, we're still preparing ourselves for a fierce and hard-fought contest.”

Dartmoor v Tyrendarra

The first semi-final between Dartmoor and Tyrendarra will be held at Cavendish on Sunday with the loser to pack the boots away for the season. while the winner will advance to the preliminary final next Saturday.

Dartmoor ran into an in-form Cavendish last Saturday, but were well in the contest for all four quarters, while Tyrendarra can count itself lucky that Heywood couldn’t kick straight, as the Darras won by eight points despite the Lions having seven more shots on goal.