Kylie's Korner: Sky Blues coach casts eye over Round Seven

Sky Blues coach Kylie Hilder talks about the matches and players to watch in Round Seven of Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership and Tarsha Gale Cup.

Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership

The ladder remains tight with one win separating second spot from ninth – or in other words, those eight clubs are well in the hunt for the top-four, when finals begin in five weeks time.

Wests Tigers v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

The Tigers had a narrow loss to the Newcastle Knights last week (22-20), which I class as a bit of an upset since they were home at Campbelltown Stadium and the Knights had a few out.

That’s now two losses in a row for the Wests Tigers so they will want to get back on the winners’ list.

The Bulldogs are three spots higher on the ladder in fifth, so they will be no pushover – they are also coming off a loss (22-12 to the Illawarra Steelers) and will want to rectify that quickly.

Their halves Gayle Broughton and Tayla Preston have been going so well, but I’ve also been impressed with the Wests Tigers No.9 Ebony Prior. She has had been outstanding in her choices of when to run and when to pass.

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Central Coast Roosters

The Roosters have some changes with the hat-trick hero from last round Shannon Rose remaining at fullback, pushing Jayme Fressard into the centres alongside Isabelle Kelly.

Isabelle and hooker Shawden Burton return after being rested against the St George Dragons so that’s a big bonus for the Roosters.

The Rabbitohs have been rolling along quite well. Some may think they’re an underdog team but you shouldn’t under-estimate them because across the board they are all doing their job. Three of their losses so far have been by four points or less.

Illawarra Steelers v North Sydney Bears

The Steelers showed real touches of class in their win over the Bulldogs. But this week both Sky Blue and Jillaroos players Emma Tonegato and Kezie Apps are missing for personal reasons.

This is one of the matches of the round as it’s a top-four clash – first versus fourth.

I’m thinking the Bears will still do it tough, even without Emma and Kezie, because the Steelers halves Taliah Fuimaono and Rachael Pearson are on song and No.9 Keeley Davis is such a good organiser.

St George Dragons v Newcastle Knights

The Knights will be bolstered with the return of forwards Yasmin Meakes and Olivia Higgins.

And I know the Dragons must be licking their wounds a bit after the big 50-0 loss to the Roosters. But they need to keep their chins up and keep turning up.

They are a new team to the Harvey Norman competition and they’ve shown signs of getting to where they need to be through their enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

So they just have to keep working hard as they strengthen their combinations each week.

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Mounties

Another great match this round with the sixth-placed Sharks against the third-placed Mounties.

The Sharks had a big win (26-10) over Wentworthville last week but they’ve lost outstanding backrower Tayla Curtis to a serious knee injury.

But I’m expecting fullback Tiana Penitani to return from injury to strengthen the side.

Mounties do have the best defensive record in the competition and they are brilliantly led by Jillaroo Simaima Taufu, who is surrounded by an equally eager and talented forward pack.

Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup

Things are getting pretty exciting in the U19s with only three rounds left before finals begin. And there is a real log-jam around the bottom half of the top-six to make it to the finals.

Five clubs from fourth to eighth position are on the same number of competition points (seven).

With Parramatta (6th) and Penrith (5th) each having a bye, the pressure is on for the Canberra Raiders (7th) and the Sharks (8th) to secure a win to keep pace.

They play at Belconnen in Canberra on Saturday (18 March) with the Raiders coming off a loss and a draw, while the Sharks are after three straight wins.